John Diekman funds and builds next-generation life sciences companies, while Sue Diekman lends her expertise to several nonprofits. Though their charitable interests are diverse, the couple always takes a hands-on approach to giving. More: https://ow.ly/6LNh50ZnsMZ

@scripps.edu PhD candidate Dom Haas received the @societymucosalimm.bsky.social Young Investigator Award to present his work at #ICMI2026 👏

M. Reza Ghadiri has spent decades asking how life’s complexity can arise from basic chemical building blocks. But behind the theories is a story that begins earlier—inside a childhood bedroom filled with improvised experiments, stained walls and the smell of sulfur. More: https://ow.ly/JnjW50ZnszF

Antibiotic use in early life impairs #MAIT cell–mediated immunity in adulthood. From LeBlanc, Sobel, @mikerobe.bsky.social and colleagues @scripps.edu: rupress.org/jem/article/... 📘 Part of our #Mucosal #Immunology collection: 👉 rupress.org/jem/collecti... #ICMI2026

Grants to help Scripps Research expand life-saving wastewater program

New #HIV vaccine shows unprecedented success in preclinical study bit.ly/4fjL1Oi Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, @scripps.edu, and IAVI show that vaccine approach yields high numbers of HIV-neutralizing antibodies in non-human primates — published in @nature.com #health #medicine

"For years, HIV has resisted traditional vaccine strategies... "A team led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Scripps Research now reports a potential breakthrough..." bit.ly/3QKjwEl #Health #Medicine #HIV #VaccineResearch #Viruses #Immunology #Antibodies #ImmuneSystem

Back-to-back studies from Scripps Research in Science Magazine and Nature reveal a faster, cleaner way for chemists to build complex, 3D molecules, including shapes once considered impossible to assemble using straightforward radical methods.

Germline-targeting sequential immunization generated functional bnAbs in serum that neutralized many HIV strains in lab tests. Published in Nature with the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), Emory University, IAVI and others, the study shows the vaccine strategy can guide antibody evolution.

We’re excited to welcome Joan Pulupa to Scripps Research as an assistant professor! Using smell-sensing neurons and advanced microscopy, including MINFLUX, Pulupa’s lab will explore how genome organization shapes brain cells and what it may reveal about neurodegenerative conditions.

Growing up in rural Littlerock, CA, Alexandra Salazar didn’t picture herself becoming a scientist. Today, she's studying in the Lander Lab, developing new cryo-EM approaches to visualize proteins inside mitochondria and better understand disease. More: https://ow.ly/rfx750Zc1W2

Scripps Research scientists Kristian G. Andersen, Josh Levy and Karthik Gangavarapu have received two new grants from the Gates Foundation totaling $2M to advance global disease surveillance by expanding wastewater surveillance and developing AI systems to improve outbreak prediction.

President of the Scripps Research Computational Biology & Bioinformatics affinity group and graduate student Ian Newman spoke with participants in our inaugural AI Hackathon, hosted with Amazon Web Services (AWS), where researchers explored agentic AI and cloud computing. 🔗 https://ow.ly/YV3W50ZiSaF

More than 100 scientists affiliated with Scripps Research were recognized in Research.com’s 2026 Best Scientists rankings across immunology, biology and biochemistry, chemistry, medicine and more. �� https://ow.ly/urwL50ZfYfYBi

Postdoctoral fellow Júlia Castro has been named to the 2026 class of Pew Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences! A member of Renan V. H. de Carvalho, Ph.D.'s lab, she's among 10 fellows receiving funding from The Pew Trusts to study the immune system. 🔗 https://ow.ly/9vJE50ZfXV3

The first high-resolution structures of human Argonaute 2 in its cutting-ready state, reported in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, reveal how this RNA interference protein cuts its targets while providing a blueprint for designing more effective siRNA therapeutics.

As antibiotic resistance continues to threaten global health, Scripps Research scientists discovered that disabling the bacterial protein SagA restores vancomycin’s power against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm), according to a new Nature Communications study.

Blocking the receptor for the inflammatory signaling molecule IL-6 reduced alcohol consumption in alcohol-dependent preclinical models, according to a new Scripps Research study. The findings implicate neuroimmune signaling in alcohol use disorder.

Congratulations to Júlia Castro, postdoc in the lab, and now a recipient of the PEW Latin America postdoctoral fellowship! Exciting science in the years ahead! www.pew.org/en/about/new...

Scripps Research, in collaboration with UC San Diego and the Lowy Medical Research Institute, found in a new Nature Neuroscience study that while erucamide levels drop as photoreceptors begin to die, restoring the molecule activates cellular responses that support retinal stability.

New lab studies explain how SAR’877, an experimental cancer therapy, works as it enters patient testing. Findings show the drug revives exhausted T cells more precisely than existing approaches without triggering the dangerous inflammation that has limited similar drugs in the past.

When grad student Byron Purse and postdoc Gudrun Stengel encountered a locked door on the Scripps Research campus, a conversation sparked. They shared scientific aspirations and travel stories before Purse found a key—opening not only the lab door, but a lasting partnership.

How do scientists study antibody interactions with HIV? 🔬 Recent Scripps Research alum Sharidan Brown, PhD, takes us inside the cryo-EM workflow, from plunge-freezing samples and collecting micrographs to building molecular models that help inform vaccine design.

More than 100 scientists from across Scripps Research came together for the institute’s inaugural AI Hackathon and Training Event. Over three days, 15 interdisciplinary teams explored how emerging technologies could help accelerate biomedical discovery. Here’s a look at what they built ⬇️

Congrats to Daniel B. McClatchy on receiving the Al Yergey Mass Spectrometry Scientist Award at the 2026 ASMS Conference. 🎉 McClatchy was recognized for pioneering advances in neuroproteomics, including SILAM and PALM workflows for quantitative in vivo proteomics. More: https://ow.ly/Heoq50Zc0HQ

Calibr-Skaggs has been awarded up to $5.1M from the NIH to develop a long-acting injectable therapy for people living with both HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV), aiming to replace daily pills with a once-monthly—or even quarterly—injections. More: https://ow.ly/7XbI50ZcpSZ

Congratulations to Ilia Droujinine and Shannon Miller on being named 2026 Baxter Young Investigators, joining several Scripps Research scientists previously recognized by the foundation. The award supports early-career researchers whose work holds promise for improving patient care.

In his Front Row lecture, Michael Erb took the audience inside the cell to explain how his team is developing “proximity” drugs, an innovation that has implications to change how scientists and cells join forces to fight against breast, prostate and blood cancers. More: https://ow.ly/mT9v50ZbivL

Scripps Research scientists have developed a fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs by teaching the immune system to rapidly neutralize fentanyl and emerging synthetic fentanyl analogs.

Researchers at Calibr-Skaggs are developing CLF065, a regenerative GLP-2 therapy, into two Phase 2 IBD studies. The studies aim to bring a regenerative treatment option to patients living with IBD, who currently have few therapies that repair the damaged intestinal lining.

The Baran lab reports a new stereoretentive radical-radical cross-coupling reaction that enables alkyl–alkyl bond formation while maintaining 80–96% enantiospecificity. Published in Science Magazine, the method works across a range of pharmaceutically relevant molecules. https://ow.ly/lvyP50Za5tw

At Scripps Research and Calibr-Skaggs, scientists are developing regenerative medicine therapies designed to help the body repair itself from within. Researchers are exploring new approaches for heart failure, IPF, IBD, age-related macular degeneration and more.

Congrats to Dylan Pilz, a research programmer in Kristian G. Andersen's lab, who received the best poster presentation award at the Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance Meeting 2026 in Ghana! A @pha4ge.bsky.social member, Pilz was recognized for his work on wastewater genomic surveillance.

We got to see drug discovery up close inside Associate Professor Michael Erb's laboratory, where his team combines chemistry and biology to develop proximity-inducing drugs using automated machines to help synthesize and test thousands of compounds at once.

At some point in the aging process, the body loses its ability to regenerate cells, organs and tissues. Scripps Research President and CEO Peter Schultz and Associate Professor Michael Bollong want to understand when that is. More: https://ow.ly/mkXX50Z7IwS

Congratulations to Asst. Prof. Alejandra Mendoza, recipient of a Health Innovator Award from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation! The grant will support her project, “Neuro-immune Networks in Chronic Intestinal Inflammation,” focused on advancing IBD research.

An experimental HIV vaccine regimen from scientists at Scripps Research and Karolinska Institutet elicited apex-targeted cross-neutralizing antibodies in every preclinical model tested. Published in Nature the vaccines generated responses against multiple HIV strains. More: https://ow.ly/pfKk50Z5Hcp

Congrats to Daniel B. McClatchy, recipient of the Al Yergey Mass Spectrometry Scientist Award from the ASMS. McClatchy was recognized for pioneering advances in neuroproteomics, including SILAM and PALM workflows for quantitative in vivo proteomics. More: https://ow.ly/I0Bj50Z6lrx

Meet Kristal Stevens, a 3rd-year PhD candidate in the Bollong lab studying regenerative therapies through the Hippo pathway. Outside the lab, she channels the wonder of science into vibrant artwork—one of which was featured on the cover of ChemBioChem in February 2025.

In our latest Community Corner, senior project manager Lauren Ariniello reflects on her journey from summer intern to digital trial innovator, the lessons lacrosse taught her about mentorship and why she still finds science just as exciting now as the day she first picked up a pipette.

Congratulations to Scripps Research Professor Jin-Quan Yu, who has been elected to the Fellowship of The Royal Society, the U.K.’s national academy of sciences, for his pioneering work in synthetic organic chemistry and carbon–hydrogen (C–H) activation research. More: https://ow.ly/GWJr50Z4TaP

We’re still celebrating the Skaggs Graduate School Class of 2026 🎓✨

Scripps Research Asst. Prof. Megan Ken was recently featured in DukeMag for her work studying RNA structural dynamics in viruses to better understand how viruses work and find new ways of making antiviral drugs. Read more at: https://ow.ly/fAJ250Z2qoN 📸: DukeMag

During last week’s Commencement Ceremony, the Skaggs Graduate School recognized Professor Ian Wilson with an honorary degree celebrating a career that transformed structural biology, immunology and scientific education at Scripps Research, alongside the establishment of the Ian Wilson Endowed Chair.

As part of last week’s Commencement celebrations, Scripps Research alumni gathered for an evening of connection, conversation and community at our annual Alumni Network Reception. We’re proud to welcome the Class of 2026 into the alumni community! 🎓🎉

In Michael Erb's lab, his team develops proximity-inducing drugs: small molecules that bring proteins into contact to control behavior. Using large-scale chemistry and automated systems like the Echo acoustic liquid handler, Erb is uncovering ways to target proteins once considered “undruggable.”

Last week, the Skaggs Graduate School Class of 2026 celebrated Commencement at Scripps Research! 🎓🎉 Surrounded by friends, family and mentors, graduates marked years of dedication and discovery. Prof. Ian Wilson and Peter Dervan were also awarded honorary degrees during the ceremony.

Inside Nobel laureate Ardem Patapoutian's lab, graduating PhD student Nick Villarino is developing new ways to visualize how the body senses touch, pressure and stretch. At the Skaggs Graduate School, his work maps sensory signaling pathways throughout the body. 📸 - Stephen Yuan (@ Patapoutian lab)

Scripps Research establishes endowed chair honoring renowned structural biologist Ian Wilson, naming Assoc. Prof. Keren Lasker as the inaugural holder, chosen for “her enormous creativity and innovation and the exceptional quality of her research," says Wilson. More: https://ow.ly/tUox50YZIY9

Regenerative medicine takes center stage in the Spring 2026 edition of Scripps Research Magazine. Learn how our programs are advancing therapies to repair the heart, lungs, eyes and more, with several programs already in human trials. Explore the full issue at: https://ow.ly/TFRG50YZeaS