Dr. Jesse Erasmus, PhD
Dr. Erasmus obtained his BS in Biology at Utah Valley university, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Over 4 years, he completed his PhD in Virology at the University of Texas Medical Branch via the Human Pathophysiology and Translational Medicine Program in affiliation with the Institute for Translational Sciences. His thesis was titled “Biotechnological Applications of an Insect-Specific Alphavirus” and he was mentored by Dr. Scott Weaver, PhD.
Dr. Erasmus’s postdoctoral work brought him to the Seattle research scene in the labs of Drs. Dan Stinchcomb, Rhea Coler, and Steve Reed at the Infectious Disease Research Institute. Jesse quickly obtained state and federal funding to develop alphavirus replicon technology in the context of highly-immunogenic, cost-efficient, and broadly-applicable vaccine platforms.
The Fuller lab added Jesse to our team in Fall 2019 with exciting plans to integrate his replicon-based vaccines to our repertoire of nucleic acid vaccine platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a unique and bittersweet development which is perfectly poised to allow for greater advancements in the application of Dr. Erasmus’s repRNA designs. In the Fuller lab, Dr. Erasmus spearheads our COVID-19 vaccine response efforts alongside Drs. Fuller and O’Connor. In addition to his role as Director of Virology at HDT Bio, Dr. Erasmus holds positions at UW in collaboration with HDT Bio.
Below is a list of past and present funding which name Dr. Erasmus either as a Principle or Co- Investigator.
| Microsoft Research – Co-investigator
Development of a rapid-response antibody therapeutic pipeline for emerging infectious diseases $185,000
|
2020-2021 |
| National Institutes of Health R44 – Principle Investigator
Adaptable RNA-based antibody platform for protection against contemporary/emerging human enteroviruses $300,000
|
2020-2021 |
| Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance – Subcontract PI
NIH 2722014006C Training and Career Development Project: Rapid development of RNA vaccine candidates in response to the ongoing epidemic of SARS-like disease caused by a 2019 novel coronavirus $363,413
|
2020-2022 |
| National Cancer Institute PREVENT Program – Principle Investigator
Preclinical development of an RNA vaccine for immunoprevention of prostate cancer Budget pending
|
2020-2022 |
| Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance – Subcontract PI
NIH 27220140006C Training and Career Development Project: Driving CD4 T-cell responses to conserved seasonal influenza epitopes as a universal vaccine approach using a self-replicating viral RNA platform $374,747
|
2019-2021 |
| National Institutes of Health F32– Principle Investigator
NIH 1F32AI136371 Development of a novel replicating viral RNA vaccine platform $172,926
|
2018-2021 |
| Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
Development of a novel replicating viral RNA vaccine platform $277,500
|
2018-2021 |
| McLaughlin Predoctoral Fellowship
Development of a host-restricted alphavirus as a vaccine and diagnostic antigen platform $56,000 + Tuition and Fees |
2014-2016 |