Amelia Escolano

Dr. Amelia Escolano is an Assistant Professor in the Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center and a Wistar Institute Assistant Professor in Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined The Wistar Institute in 2021 after completing her postdoctoral training at The Rockefeller University under Michel Nussenzweig.

Dr. Escolano received her BS degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oviedo, Spain, and a master's degree from Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa in Madrid, Spain. She conducted additional training at the University of Turku, Finland, and the Genome Research Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. She earned her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Autonoma University of Madrid after completing her pre-doctoral studies at the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Madrid.

Dr. Escolano's research focuses on understanding the unique features of humoral and cellular immune responses to sequential immunization, with special emphasis on antibody affinity maturation in germinal centers. Her lab investigates novel vaccination strategies against highly mutating viruses such as HIV-1, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2. Using state-of-the-art technologies and animal models including wild type mice, transgenic mice, and rhesus macaques, her research aims to identify guidelines for designing vaccination approaches that induce long-lasting protection against highly mutating viruses in humans.

Her publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on HIV-1 immunology, antibody development, and vaccination strategies. Her work explores how sequential immunization can elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies against highly diverse viruses, with particular attention to the V3-glycan patch of HIV-1 Env. She has made significant contributions to understanding B cell responses, antibody isolation and characterization, and the development of knock-in mouse models for HIV research.

• Pew Biomedical Scholar (2022)
• NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2022) providing $1.5 million over five years
• Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists (finalist)
• Pew Scholar grant of $300,000 over four years

Dr. Escolano leads an active research laboratory with several postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and research assistants. Her lab has received significant funding to pursue innovative approaches to vaccine design against rapidly mutating viruses. Her research has the potential to revolutionize vaccine development against pathogens that currently lack effective universal vaccines.

The Escolano Laboratory employs a multidisciplinary approach combining immunology, virology, and molecular biology to tackle the challenges of vaccine development against highly diverse viruses. The lab's work on sequential immunization strategies represents a novel approach to overcoming the limitations of current vaccination methods against rapidly evolving pathogens.