Ph.D., November 2000. Graduate Program in Macromolecular and Cellular Structure and Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California.
B.A., May 1993. Rice University, Houston, Texas. Two majors: Biochemistry & Cell Biology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.


2008 – Member, Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology
2008 – Associate Professor, Dept of Immunology and Microbial Science
2003 – : Faculty, Kellogg School of Science and Technology, The Scripps Research Institute.
2003 – : Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute.
2002 : Senior Research Associate, Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute. Structural Studies of Dengue and Ebola Viral Pathogenesis.
2000-2002: Research Associate, laboratories of Ian A. Wilson and Dennis R. Burton, Departments of Molecular Biology and Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute. Structure-based design of HIV-1 vaccines and complement activation by hexameric IgG.
1994-2000: Graduate Student, laboratory of Ian A. Wilson, Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute. Crystal Structure of an Intact Human IgG: Implications for HIV-1 Vaccine Design and Effector Function. In addition, crystal structures of other HIV-1 neutralizing Fab fragments and Fab-peptide complexes.

My laboratory explores, at the molecular level, how pathogens evade and usurp innate and adaptive immune responses and how we can design vaccines and antivirals to defend against them. We incorporate x-ray crystallography, virology, and immunology in our analysis of the key proteins responsible for the pathogenesis of and immune suppression in Lassa, LCMV, Marburg, and Ebola Hemorrhagic Fevers.

1. Lee, J.E., and Saphire, E.O. (2009) Ebolavirus glycoprotein structure and mechanism of entry. Future Virology, In Press.

2. Lee, J.E., Fusco, M.L., Hessell, A.H., Burton, D.R., and Saphire, E.O. (2009) Techniques and tactics used in determining the structure of the trimeric ebolavirus glycoprotein. Acta Crystallographica. D65:1162-1180. [Full Text]

3. Lee, J.E. and Saphire, E.O. (2009) Neutralizing Ebolavirus: structural insights into the envelope glycoprotein and antibodies targeted against it. Current Opinion in Structural Biology. 19: 1-10 [PubMed Abstract]

4. Lee, J.E., Fusco, M.L., and Saphire, E.O. (2009) An efficient platform for screening, expression and crystallization of mammalian glycoproteins. Nature Protocols. 4: 592-604 [PubMed Abstract]

5. Lee, J.E.; Fusco, M.L.; Hessell, A.J.; Oswald, W.B.; Burton, D.R. and Saphire, E.O. (2008) Structure of the Ebola virus glycoprotein bound to an antibody from a human survivor. Nature. 454:177-183. [PubMed Abstract]

6. Lee, J.E.; Kuehne, A.; Abelson, D.M.; Fusco, M.L.; Hart, M.K.; and Saphire, E.O. (2008) Complex of a protective antibody with its Ebola virus GP peptide epitope: unusual features of a V lambda x light chain. Journal of Molecular Biology. 375:202-16. [PubMed Abstract]

7. Saphire, E.O., Montero, M., Menendez, A., Irving, M.B., Zwick, M.B., Parren, P.W.H.I., Burton, D.R., Scott, J.K., and Wilson, I.A. (2007). Structure of a high-affinity "mimotope" peptide bound to HIV-1-neutralizing antibody b12 explains its inability to elicit gp120 cross-reactive antibodies. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 369:696-709.[PubMed Abstract]

8. Cárdenas, W.B., Loo, Y-M, Gale, M., Jr., Hartman, A.L., Kimberlin, C.R., Martínez-Sobrido, L., Saphire, E.O., Nichol, S.N., and Basler, C.F. (2006). Ebola virus VP35 protein binds dsRNA and inhibits interferon a/b production induced by RIG-I signaling. Journal of Virology. 80:5168-78.[PubMed Abstract]

9. Zwick, M.B., Saphire, E.O., Burton, D.R. (2004). Gp41: HIV’s shy protein. Nature Medicine. 10:133-134. [PubMed Abstract]

10. Saphire, E.O., Stanfield, R.L., Crispin, M.D., Morris, G., Zwick, M.B., Pantophlet, R.A., Parren, P.W., Rudd, P.M., Dwek, R.A., Burton, D.R., Wilson, I.A. (2003). Crystal Structure of an Intact Human IgG: Antibody Asymmetry, Flexibility, and a Guide for HIV-1 Vaccine Design. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 535:55-66. [PubMed Abstract]

11. Zwick, M.B., Parren, P.W., Saphire, E.O., Church, S., Wang, M., Scott, J.K., Dawson, P.E., Wilson, I.A., Burton, D.R. (2003). Molecular features of the broadly neutralizing immunoglobulin G1 b12 required for recognition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120. Journal of Virology. 77:5863-5876. [PubMed Abstract]

12. Pantophlet, R. Saphire, E.O., Poignard, P., Wilson, I.A., Parren, P.W.H.I., and Burton, D.R. (2003). Fine mapping of the interaction of neutralizing and nonneutralizing monoclonal antibodies with the CD4 binding site of HIV-1 gp120. Journal of Virology. 77:642-658. [PubMed Abstract]

13. Scanlan, C.N., Pantophlet, R., Wormald, M.R., Saphire, E.O., Calarese, D., Stanfield, R., Wilson, IA, Katinger, H., Dwek, R.A., Burton, D.R., Rudd, P.M. (2003). The carbohydrate epitope of the neutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibody 2G12. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 205-218.

14. Stanfield, R.L., Saphire, E.O., Ghiara, J.B., Profy, A.T., and Wilson, I.A. (2003). Neutralizing Antibody Recognition of a Stable V3 Conformation: X-ray Crystal Structure of Fab 83.1 in Complex with a V3 loop Peptide, Virology, 315: 159-173. [PubMed Abstract]

15. Saphire, E.O. (2002). Structure Based Drug Design. IDrugs, 5:658-671.

16. Saphire, E.O., Stanfield, R.L., Crispin, M.D. Max, Rudd, P.M., Dwek, R.A., Parren, P.W.H.I., Burton, D.R., and Wilson, I.A. (2002). Contrasting IgG Structures Reveal Extreme Asymmetry and Flexibility, Journal of Molecular Biology, 319:8-19. [PubMed Abstract]

17. Scanlan, C., Pantophlet, R., Rudd, P.M., Saphire, E.O., Wormald, M., Stanfield, R.L., Wilson, I.A. and Burton, D.R. (2002). The broadly neutralizing anti-human immunodeficiency virus type I antibody 2G12 recognizes a cluster of alpha 1‡2 mannose residues on the outer face of gp120, Journal of Virology, 76:7306-21. [PubMed Abstract]

18. Saphire, E.O., Parren, P.W.H.I., Pantophlet, R., Zwick, M.B., Morris, G.M., Rudd, P.M., Dwek, R.A., Stanfield, R.L., Burton, D.R., and Wilson, I. A. (2001) Crystal Structure of a Neutralizing Human IgG against HIV-1: A Template for Vaccine Design, Science, 293: 1155-1159. [PubMed Abstract]

19. Saphire, E.O., Parren, P.W.H.I., Barbas, C.F., III, Burton, D.R., and Wilson, I.A. (2001) Crystallization and preliminary structure determination of an intact human immunoglobulin b12: an antibody that broadly neutralizes primary isolates of HIV-1. Acta Crystallographica, D57: 168-171. [PubMed Abstract]

20. Saphire, E.O., Burton, D.R., Parren, P.W.H.I., and Wilson, I.A. (2001). A New Look at Rheumatoid Factor. Cutting Edge article, Rheuma21st.

21. Saphire, E.O. and Parren, P.W.H.I. (2001). Listening for Virus Infection. Nature Biotechnology, 19:823-824. [PubMed Abstract]

22. Poignard, P., Saphire, E.O., Parren, P.W.H.I., and Burton, D.R. (2001). Gp120: Biologic Aspects of Structural Features. Annual Review of Immunology. 19:253-274. [PubMed Abstract]

23. Parren, P.W.H.I., Saphire, E.O., and Burton, D.R. (2001). Neutralization of viruses is achieved by antibody coating of the virion surface. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 260:109-143. [PubMed Abstract]

24. Zwick, M.B., Labrijn, A.F., Wang, M., Spenlehauer, C., Saphire, E.O., Binley, J.M., Moore, J.P., Steigler, G., Katinger, H., Burton, D.R., and Parren, P.W.H.I. (2001). Broadly neutralizing antibodies targeted to the membrane-proximal external region of HIV-1 glycoprotein gp41. Journal of Virology. 75:10892-10895. [PubMed Abstract]

25. Burton D.R., Saphire, E.O., Parren, P.W. (2001). A model for neutralization of viruses based on antibody coating of the virion surface. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology.; 260:109-43.


Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE), 2009 presented by The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and NIH/NIAID
Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 2009-2014
ICAAC Young Investigator Award, American Society for Microbiology, 2006.
Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences, Burroughs Wellcome Fund. 2003-2008.
New Initiative Award in Global Infectious Disease, Ellison Medical Foundation, 2003.
Sidhu Award for the most outstanding contribution to x-ray diffraction by a person within 5 years of
the Ph.D., Pittsburgh Diffraction Society, 2003.
Fellow, Universitywide AIDS Research Program, state of California, 2001-2003.