Daniela Weiskopf

Research Statement

AI generated · 1d ago

Daniela Weiskopf's research centers on human T-cell immunity to viral infection, with a sustained emphasis on dengue and SARS-CoV-2. Her work on selective and cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes in unexposed humans (over 1,100 citations) showed pre-existing reactivity in individuals without prior exposure, while her characterization of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell phenotype and kinetics in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients tracked how these responses evolve during severe COVID-19. Earlier dengue studies, including mapping of CD8+ T cell responses to a live attenuated tetravalent vaccine, established her interest in how conserved epitopes shape protection across viral serotypes, and her first-author review of immunosenescence in the aging immune system remains heavily cited. Beyond these lead-author works, she contributed as a middle author to consortium efforts identifying T cell targets in COVID-19 patients and unexposed individuals and to longitudinal assessments of immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 up to eight months after infection, both foundational references during the pandemic. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond her publication record. Across this body of work, Weiskopf's contributions trace a consistent line: defining which T-cell specificities matter for protection and how vaccines and natural infection shape them.

Most Cited Works

Immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 assessed for up to 8 months after infection

Jennifer M Dan, Jose Mateus, Yu Kato, Kathryn M Hastie, Esther Dawen Yu, Caterina E Faliti, Alba Grifoni, Sydney I Ramirez, Sonya Haupt, April Frazier, Catherine Nakao, Vamseedhar Rayaprolu, Stephen A Rawlings, Bjoern Peters, Florian Krammer, Viviana Simon, Erica Ollmann Saphire, Davey M Smith, Daniela Weiskopf, Alessandro Sette, Shane Crotty

Science2021

2,648Citations

Research Areas

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Researchvaccines and immunoinformatics approacheT-cell and B-cell ImmunologyMosquito-borne diseases and controlImmune responses and vaccinations

Affiliations & Education

Employment

2024–present· now
La Jolla Institute for Immunology(US)
Assistant Professor · Center for Vaccine Innovation
2020–2024
La Jolla Institute for Immunology(US)
Research Assistant Professor · Center for Vaccine Innovation
2014–2019
La Jolla Institute for Immunology(US)
Instructor · Division of Vaccine Discovery
2009–2013
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology(US)
Postdoctoral Fellow · Divison of Vaccine Discovery

Loading ORCID activity...

Sources

Research Statement

Most Cited Works

Immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 assessed for up to 8 months after infection

Research Areas

Affiliations & Education

Employment

Selective and cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes in unexposed humans

Properties of MHC Class I Presented Peptides That Enhance Immunogenicity

The aging of the immune system