Dr. Antonio Lanzavecchia is a distinguished immunologist whose pioneering research has fundamentally advanced the understanding of human immune responses and their therapeutic applications. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at Vir Biotechnology, Inc., providing scientific leadership for technical programs designed to transform the care of individuals with serious infectious diseases. Dr. Lanzavecchia earned his medical degree from the University of Pavia, Italy, where he specialized in pediatrics and infectious diseases, establishing the foundation for his lifelong commitment to immunological research. Prior to joining Vir Biotechnology in December 2017, he served as the Founding Director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Bellinzona, Switzerland, and held professorships at the Università della Svizzera italiana, the University of Genoa, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich.
Dr. Lanzavecchia has made seminal contributions to the field of human immunology, particularly in antigen presentation, dendritic cell biology, and immunological memory, which have profound implications for developing novel therapeutic approaches and vaccines. His laboratory pioneered high-throughput cell-based screens to isolate potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies from human memory B cells and plasma cells, creating candidates for passive vaccination and tools for vaccine design. His research has addressed fundamental questions regarding somatic mutations in protective antibody responses and discovered a novel mechanism of antibody diversification based on templated insertions observed in malaria-immune individuals. With more than 300 publications and numerous patents to his name, Dr. Lanzavecchia's work has established critical frameworks that guide contemporary approaches to combating infectious diseases through immune system modulation.
Beyond his research accomplishments, Dr. Lanzavecchia has significantly shaped the global immunology community through his leadership roles and scientific entrepreneurship. He is the scientific founder of Humabs BioMed, which was acquired by Vir Biotechnology in August 2017, demonstrating his ability to translate fundamental research into practical therapeutic applications. As a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and an International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, he continues to influence the direction of immunological research worldwide. Dr. Lanzavecchia's current work at Vir Biotechnology focuses on integrating diverse innovations in science, technology, and medicine to create treatments that induce protective and therapeutic immune responses against serious infectious diseases, maintaining his position at the forefront of translational immunology research.
