LA JOLLA, CA – The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is pleased to announce that Lynda Stuart, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an internationally recognized immunology researcher, has been elected to its Board of Directors.
“We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Stuart to our board,” said Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., La Jolla Institute president and chief scientific officer. “Dr. Stuart’s earlier experience as a clinician and more recently her work as a research scientist studying innate immunity complements much of what we do here at the Institute. In addition, her impact on global health through her job at the foundation of overseeing the sponsorship of biomedical research around the world will be invaluable in guiding some of the Institute’s strategic initiatives.”
Born in Jamaica where her father was a physician, Dr. Stuart was raised in the United Kingdom. She received a BA in medicine and her M.D. from the University of Cambridge and the University of London. She subsequently received training as a nephrologist and practiced for 10 years. Her love of science and discovery led her in acquire a Ph.D., in microbiological sciences and immunology from the University of Edinburgh.
In 2003, Dr. Stuart moved to the United States to join the faculty of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. As an assistant professor, she was a co-director of the Laboratory of Developmental Immunology; a member of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, an affiliate of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; and served on the Massachusetts General Hospital Executive Committee for Research.
In 2016, Dr. Stuart joined the foundation, where she leads the Vaccine and Host Pathogen Biology domain of Discovery and Translational Sciences. The group works across all infectious diseases of interest to the foundation and sponsors novel approaches that accelerate the discovery, development and translation of new passive and active immunization for targeted diseases. Dr. Stuart continues her research on innate immunity as an affiliate professor with the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason.
Dr. Stuart, who lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters, said she is looking forward to working with La Jolla Institute, which she says is one of the most respected and leading-edge research organizations in the world.
“My love of science and commitment to discovery is identical to the passion and dedication the remarkable scientists at La Jolla Institute have for advancing immunology to a point where it very soon will have a profound impact on health around the world,” Dr. Stuart says. “The Institute’s bold mission of ‘Life Without Disease’ matches my own desire to use science to help humankind. What’s exciting is that immunology-based organizations like La Jolla Institute are on the threshold of developing some of the most effective treatments, if not actual cures, in medical history. To be involved in that process and hopefully contribute to it will be one of the highlights of my career.”
About La Jolla Institute for Immunology
The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricacies and power of the immune system so that we may apply that knowledge to promote human health and prevent a wide range of diseases. Since its founding in 1988 as an independent, nonprofit research organization, the Institute has made numerous advances leading toward its goal: life without disease.
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