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Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Elina Zuniga

Elina Zuniga

2011 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise Honoree in Biomedical Science

Location

San Diego, CA

Title

Assistant Professor in the Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego

Area(s) of Research

Molecular biology; immunology; virology

Education

Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA (postdoc); National University of Cordoba (PhD, Biochemistry)

Country of Birth

Argentina

Tags
biomedical science immunology molecular biology University of California virology
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The human immune system is highly evolved to protect us from illness, yet it still falls prey to a wide variety of infectious diseases, among them the leading causes of death and disability around the world. On the frontlines against that army of pathogens is Elina Zuniga, who focuses her research on the strategies used by viruses to establish chronic infections. Her objective is to mobilize the immune system to eradicate them, by uncovering the strategies they use to establish chronic infections. She and her colleagues study the cellular and molecular aspects of the innate and adaptive immune responses (the two arms of the immune system), and more specifically, dendritic cells, a specialized subset of leukocytes that coordinate them.

In this effort, Zuniga made a major “hit” while a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Institute, when she initiated study into plasmacytoid dendritic cells, a subset of leukocytes that produce large quantities of the antiviral mediators type I interferons, and have significant developmental potential. Her innovative approaches in this field continue to reveal exciting new insights into how to fight chronic viral infections and associated opportunistic pathogens. Zuniga believes that “this knowledge can be harnessed to empower the immune system’s fight against persistent viruses, thereby improving the duration and quality of life for millions of people worldwide.”

A native of Argentina, Zuniga earned her PhD in biochemistry from the National University of Cordoba. She accepted a postdoctoral position at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, made possible by the award of two fellowships. Currently an assistant professor in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, Zuniga remains strongly connected to her roots, which she says often help her “perceive reality in different ways” and encourage her to “seek worldwide benefits in scientific endeavors.”

 

Awards and Accomplishments

  • Hellman Foundation Scholar Award
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar Award
  • American Cancer Society Scholar Award (a lifetime honor)
Tags
biomedical science immunology molecular biology University of California virology

Jury Members

2011 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise Honoree in Biomedical Science

Heran Darwin

Associate Professor of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine

Laurie Dempsey

Senior Editor, Nature Immunology

Peter Palese

Professor and Chair, Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Jan Vilcek

Professor of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine

Leslie Vosshall

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chemers Family Associate Professor, The Rockefeller University

Nicholas Wade

Science Department, The New York Times

Jedd Wolchok

Director of Immunotherapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
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Related Prize Recipients

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Michaela Gack receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for uncovering molecular mechanisms by which the human immune system triggers antiviral defenses, and for identifying potential vaccine and drug targets for emerging infectious diseases.
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Vishva M. Dixit receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for his groundbreaking discoveries on the mechanism of apoptosis - a biochemical process of programmed cell death.
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Silvi Rouskin receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for developing methods to unravel the shapes of RNA molecules inside cells and aiding the potential development of RNA-based therapeutics.
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