We interviewed participants from the Fall 2023 cycle of the CIVICs Collaborative Training Program to learn about their experiences and their research projects. The Program provides funding for early-career researchers to collaborate and receive training from a hosting CIVICs institution in a technique that is new to their home laboratories. The Collaborative Training Program offers funding twice per year for projects that last up to two weeks. In the Fall 2023 cycle, five researchers from across CIVICs participated. We’re continuing this series with a profile of Sinai-Emory Multi-Institutional CIVIC (SEM CIVIC) member, André León, a graduate student and PhD Candidate at The Scripps Research Institute studying Structural Biology in Dr. Andrew Ward’s laboratory.
León currently works on the structural characterization of antibody responses to human and avian influenza glycoproteins, specifically against avian H15 and human H1 and H3. León chose to pursue influenza research after his experience in the Ward Lab as a membrane protein biochemist working on lipid transporters. He acquired highly specialized skills in the Ward lab, such as electron microscopy-based polyclonal epitope mapping and high-resolution cryoelectron microscopy. Following three years dedicated to membrane protein research, León was ready to leverage his skills in a new way. He found the research of his colleagues at the Ward lab inspiring and decided to transition his focus to influenza. He applied to the CIVICs Collaborative Training Program in hopes of solidifying his basic virology skills and being exposed to an influenza-focused laboratory.
Disha Bhavsar, a research associate in Dr. Florian Krammer’s laboratory, was part of a previous cohort of the CIVICs Collaborative Training Program. During her exchange, Bhavsar spent time in the Ward laboratory and initiated the research that León continued. When León went to New York to study in Dr. Krammer’s lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, he reconnected with Bhavsar. She trained León in a variety of virology techniques including plaque reduction, microneutralization, and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity & antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis assays.
León found Dr. Krammer’s lab particularly enticing due to its location in New York City. He described New York as, “the epicenter of a lot of the work that we do, and we do so much collaborating with Florian’s lab and Pat Wilson’s lab and all these other people… I wanted to see it in real life after meeting all these people virtually.” It was exciting for León to see what other flu researchers do in their labs and “be surrounded by flu researchers who really know so much about flu from the molecular and virology perspective.”
Working on next-generation vaccines post-COVID has been incredibly rewarding and sparked him to reimagine his career trajectory. Being part of a collaborative network and working towards a common goal motivated him to continue with this line of work. He hopes to be a professor with an influenza research lab as part of a collective effort to produce a universal flu vaccine. León summarized his career goals by saying, “if I dedicate 40 years of my life and we go a little bit further, I will be okay with having dedicated that amount of my life to something that I felt was worthwhile. That’s a real privilege.”
If you’re interested in applying for the next cycle of the CIVICs Collaborative Training Program, reach out to support@niaidcivics.org!