Gina Kirchweger joined the Institute in January 2015 and serves as the Chief Communications Officer and Chief of Staff. A scientist by training, and a communicator at heart, Gina has spent most of her career writing about science. Prior to joining the La Jolla Institute, she led science communication teams at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City and, most recently, at the Leibniz Institute for Age Research in Jena, Germany.

A native of Austria, Gina received her master’s degree in Molecular Biology and her doctorate in Biochemistry from the University of Vienna. After a short stint as a postdoctoral researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, she completed the Science Communication Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and for several years honed her reporting skills working as a foreign science correspondent for European newspapers and magazines.

Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and his team study immunity against infectious diseases. They investigate how the immune system remembers infections and vaccines. By remembering infections and vaccines, the body is protected from becoming infected in the future. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective medical treatments in modern civilization and are responsible for saving millions of lives. Yet, good vaccines are very difficult to design, and very few new vaccines have been made in the past 10 years. A better understanding of immune memory will facilitate the ability to make new vaccines. Dr. Tony Fauci, NIH, referred to some of the Crotty lab work as “exceedingly important to the field of immunogen design.”

As Chief Financial Officer, Richard Stryjewski leads financial planning and operations to advance essential growth and ensure La Jolla Institute’s long-term financial security.

An active California Certified Public Accountant, Stryjewski started his career at Ernst & Young LLP, and subsequently held various accounting and finance positions with multiple large organizations including PacifiCare Health Systems and the Walt Disney Company. Most recently, he spent 12 years at Scripps Research, where he oversaw general accounting, financial reporting, budget, treasury, risk management, compliance, endowment accounting, and donor financial stewardship.

Stryjewski is a Southern California native, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Maria Ortega joined the Institute in June 2022 with nearly thirty years of experience in Sponsored Research Administration. As the Institute’s Chief Compliance Officer, Maria works closely with organizational leadership in identifying, designing, implementing, and monitoring the processes by which the Institute will comply with all applicable laws and regulations to safeguard research integrity. Maria serves as the Chair of the LJI Compliance Committee and reports regularly to the LJI Managing Director and the Audit, Risk, and Compliance Committee of the LJI Board of Directors.

Prior to joining LJI, Maria held a leadership position at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute where she managed the day-to-day operations as the Director of the Sponsored Research Office. She worked closely with scientific personnel to advise and guide on best practices related to research administration and compliance.

Kelsey Dale was appointed to lead the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) Advancement Department as the Vice President of Advancement in June 2022. She joined the Institute in September 2016 as Deputy Director of Advancement, in which she co-led record philanthropic growth at the Institute. As Vice President of Advancement, Kelsey continues to work very closely with the Institute’s Board of Directors and oversee departmental operations, programs, annual giving, and special events, while leading the Institute’s relationships with elite philanthropic partners and donors to secure private support for the Institute’s research. Kelsey is also responsible for overseeing the Institute’s planned giving program and working with LJI’s Planned Giving Advisory Council.

Prior to joining LJI, Kelsey worked in the fundraising and donor relations field for more than nine years at various San Diego organizations with a range of foci from higher-education, to global health and medical research. Early in her career she also served as an AmeriCorps Service Member in Seattle, WA.

She is an Active Member with ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) San Diego, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization founded and administered by women who support scientific advancement in STEM areas to address the national need for scientists by providing funding for the country’s brightest U.S. graduate Scholars. She is also a current member and has served on the Board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) – San Diego Chapter, and is also a member of the North County Philanthropy Council and corporate member of the La Jolla Rotary Club.

Kelsey earned a B.A. in History and graduated with Honors from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. She lives in Carlsbad with her husband and two daughters.

Margaret (Ng Thow) Hing, Chief Legal Officer, Legal Affairs & IP, provides support for all legal and contractual matters at LJI with a particular focus on technology transfer activities. Margaret oversees all aspects of La Jolla Institute’s patent portfolio and technology agreements, and supports business development functions. Margaret works with scientific personnel on a daily basis to support their research activities by facilitating access to research tools and technologies, ensuring intellectual property protection of research discoveries and negotiating agreements for funding of research and commercialization of technologies.

Prior to joining the Institute, Margaret was an attorney with Smart & Biggar, Fetherstonhaugh, a leading intellectual property and technology law firm. She advised clients on patent prosecution matters with a focus in the area of biotechnology. Margaret obtained a Master of Science in Molecular & Medical Genetics and J.D. from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Pam leads a team of Human Resources professionals strengthening La Jolla Institute’s friendly culture while keeping diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the forefront.

With over 20 years of experience within dynamic and community-based organizations, she finds innovative ways of creating opportunities that will holistically strengthen the Institute’s community of international, multi-generational, workforce.

Pam is a Southern California native, and has obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences, and a Master of Science degree in Human Resources from Chapman University, and has earned the designation of Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Michael Scarpelli coordinates information technology at the Institute to help ensure that LJI’s researchers always have the technological infrastructure, tools and support that they need for their vital scientific efforts. He focuses on delivering efficient and friendly IT service that scales and expands in whatever direction LJI’s research requires.

Michael joined LJI over 20 years ago and has worked in all levels of the Information Technology program, and has been collaborating broadly with colleagues across nearly every administrative and scientific group at the Institute during his tenure. In 2020, Michael began to help with coordination among LJI’s core scientific facilities, and in 2021 he was a founding member of LJIdea, the Institute’s committee for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Michael is a Southern California native, and attended the University of California, San Diego where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in the Literature program.

Dr. Croft is a Professor at LJI and currently serves as Director of Academic Affairs. Dr. Croft’s research focus is on the cellular regulation of immunity and tolerance, and how membrane bound and soluble stimulatory molecules control function of T cells and cells such as epithelial cells and fibroblasts that contribute to inflammatory and autoimmune disease.

Dr. Croft received a BS in Biology from Brunel University in London, U.K, and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Sussex University in the U.K. In 1989 he moved to the Biology Department of the University of California, San Diego as a postdoctoral fellow. In 1996, Dr. Croft joined LJI as Assistant Professor, and was appointed as an Associate Professor in 2001. Dr. Croft was tenured in 2003, and became a Professor in 2005.