Speakers

Dr. Eva Harris is Professor and Chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and Director of the Center for Global Public Health, in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and President of the Sustainable Sciences Institute. She has developed a multidisciplinary approach to study the molecular virology, pathogenesis, immunology, epidemiology, clinical aspects and control of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral diseases in humans. Her work addresses immune correlates of protection and pathogenesis and viral and host factors that modulate disease severity, using in vitro approaches, animal models, and research involving human populations. One research major focus is on studies of arboviral disease in humans, including antibody and B cell responses and correlates of protection, diagnostics and seroprevalence studies, and viral evolution. Another focus is viral pathogenesis, specifically the role of flavivirus NS1 protein, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus GP38 protein, and other viral toxins in vascular leak and virus dissemination. Her international work includes laboratory-based and epidemiological studies of arboviral diseases in endemic Latin American countries, particularly in Nicaragua through close collaborations for over 35 years.