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Joanna Davies, PhD

Dr. Joanna Davies graduated with a D.Phil. in Immunology from Oxford University, U.K., in 1986. She became Assistant Professor at The Scripps Research Institute in 1998 and established her first independent research group there. In 2001 she moved her research group to Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, where she became Professor and Director of Scientific Affairs from 2009–2014. She established San Diego Diabetes Research Institute (i.e., Ballad) in June 2013 and incorporated San Diego Biomedical Research Institute in July 2013.

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James Binley, PhD

Dr. James Binley earned his Ph.D.  in Immunology/HIV in 1995 from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Sheffield, UK. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York in 1999. He was an Instructor at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. In 2001, he returned to The Scripps Research Institute as Staff Scientist. In 2004, he established his laboratory at Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. 

 

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Celine DerMardirossian, PhD

Dr. Céline DerMardirossian received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Paris Orsay XI, France and completed her post-doctoral studies in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology in Prof. Gary M. Bokoch at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA. As an Associate Professor at The Scripps Research Institute in the Molecular and Medicine Department, her work was focused on deciphering the molecular mechanisms that regulate the spatio-temporal activation of GTPases for efficient cell locomotion. This information is critical to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying normal physiological function and the consequences of dysregulation under pathological conditions as cancer. Recently, Dr. DerMardirossian joined San Diego BioMed as a Professor, she is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Molecular and Medicine Department at The Scripps Research Institute. Ongoing projects in the lab are the analysis of the role of RhoGTPases, their regulators GEFs and GAPs, and their new binding partners identified in the lab in regulating cell migration and invasion to design new strategies to control the aberrant activation of RhoGTPases in cancer. Experimental approaches used in her lab include techniques of biochemistry, state-of-the-art microscopy, high throughput screening, and xenograft mouse studies.​

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Roberto Baccala, PhD

Dr. Roberto Baccala received his Ph.D. in Biology/Immunology, Pasteur Institute and University of Paris VI and completed his post-doctoral studies in the Department of Immunology at the Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation. Dr. Baccala established himself as Assistant Professor at The Scripps Research Institute in 2000 and then Associate Professor in 2008. He then moved his research to San Diego BioMed in 2021 where he currently studies the immune system and how it can sometimes cause damage in autoimmune diseases and viral infections. His work focuses on how the body’s first line of defense (the innate immune system) causes systemic autoimmune diseases like Lupus, how environmental factors like viruses or chemicals can trigger or worsen autoimmune diseases, and how the innate immune system contributes to severe damage in viral infections. ​

 

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Maria Cecilia Marcondes, PhD

Dr. Cecilia Marcondes received her PhD in immunology from  Immunology, Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil) in 1996. She was a postdoctoral fellow at New York University Medical Center, Skirball Institute of Molecular Medicine and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Department of Neuropharmacology. Before joining San Diego Biomedical Research Institute as Associate Professor, she was Assistant Professor at TSRI,Molecular and Cellular Neurosciences Department. The Marcondes Lab examines oxidative stress-mediated mechanisms that affect body temperature by modifying thermogenic programs centrally and in the brown fat.

 

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Fahumiya Samad, PhD

Dr. Fahumiya Samad received her Ph.D. in Biology (Immunology) from The University of Wisconsin. Upon completion of her post-doctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute in the laboratory of Dr. David J. Loskutoff, she became Assistant Professor in the Department of Vascular Biology at Scripps. She then joined the La Jolla Institute for Molecular Studies as Associate Professor, later moving to the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. Dr. Samad is Editor-in-Chief of Adipocyte, the first international peer-reviewed journal focusing exclusively on all aspects of adipose tissue physiology and pathology.

 

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Richard Milner, PhD

Dr. Richard Milner trained at the University of Cambridge where he received his PhD in Neurobiology in 1995 and MD in 1998. He completed postdoctoral training at Cambridge and at The Scripps Research Institute before establishing his independent group there in 2006. He joined San Diego BioMed in 2018. His studies focus on the design of new therapeutic approaches aimed at combating neurological disease by increasing blood supply and reducing vascular breakdown. Dr. Milner serves on grant review committees for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Heart Association and actively reviews for several scientific journals.

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Dave Gilbert, PhD

Dr. Dave Gilbert earned his Ph.D. in Genetics at Stanford University. He was a J.H. Taylor Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology at Florida State University and then later joined San Diego BioMed in 2021. Dr. Gilbert and his lab studies chromosome biology, focusing on how chromosomes influence cellular identity, development, and heredity. The lab’s central focus is on the spatial and temporal regulation of DNA replication—specifically, where and when replication begins, and how errors in this process affect phenotype and disease. DNA replication is not random; these replication timing patterns change during development and in diseases, where they may disrupt epigenetic regulation, gene expression, and genome stability. The lab believes that studying DNA replication provides a powerful window into uncovering how the disruption of this process contributes to disease.

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Bruno Conti, PhD

Dr. Bruno Conti earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Modena. In 2022, he joined San Diego BioMed as a Professor. Dr. Conti’s research investigates the biology of aging and age associated diseases. Specifically, Dr. Conti’s laboratory uses a combination of genetic and pharmacological approaches to determine how body temperature and neuroinflammation affect longevity and neurodegeneration. The goal of Dr. Conti’s work is to accelerate drug discovery to slow aging and the incidence and progression of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The strategy includes identifying novel drug targets and evaluating the repurposing of existing FDA approved drugs.

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Charles Daniel Murin, PhD

Dr. Daniel Murin earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics, The Scripps Research Institute. He was a postdoctoral Research Associate and Scripps Research Institute and joined San Diego BioMed as an Associate Professor in 2023. Dr. Murin investigates the body’s first line of defense, the innate immune system. The Murin lab studies how the immune system uses antibodies to fight viruses by focusing on Natural Killer (NK) cells which are a critical part of this system.  They use advanced and novel imaging techniques that allow them to view the cell surface at the nanometer to atomic scale, which allows for a better understanding of how proteins on the surface of NK cells enable the killing of the sick cells.  He is currently developing a method focused on optimizing the NK cell protein responsible for binding to antibodies.

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Takanori Otomo, PhD

Dr. Takanori Otomo earned his Ph.D. in Protein Biosciences, Osaka University. He completed his post-doctoral studies at bouth University of Texas Southwester Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He joined San Diego BioMed in 2022 as an Associate Professor. Dr. Takanori Otomo’s research is focused on autophagy, the cells’ internal system that protects them by recycling nutrients and clearing away damaged components. To uncover how autophagy-related proteins drive this essential process, the Otomo lab uses approaches from structural biology, biochemistry, and cell biology. They identify how fats move around and build the structures needed for cleanup. While autophagy normally helps prevent cancer by removing potentially cancer-causing materials, once tumors form, cancer cells can exploit this process to survive in low-nutrient environments and resist treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy. By advancing fundamental knowledge of autophagy, the lab aims to find new strategies for targeting this process in ways that may improve the effectiveness of disease therapies.

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Gregory Seumois, PhD

Dr. Greg Seumois earned his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, University of Liege, Belgium. He jumpstarted his career at La Jolla Institute for Immunology before joining San Diego BioMed as an Associate Professor in 2024. His research uses advanced genomic tools at both bulk and single-cell levels to analyze immune cells from clinical samples and uncover new disease mechanisms. The Seumois Lab is dedicated to advancing research on chronic non-infectious respiratory diseases such as asthma and allergies. Their mission is to bridge innovative research with clinical applications, deepening understanding of human biology and enabling biomarker discovery to shape the future of personalized medicine.