John Misasi

Dr. John Misasi, M.D., currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Misasi earned his medical degree from SUNY-Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, and completed his Pediatric Residency at New York University. He furthered his medical training as a Fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he subsequently held the position of Instructor in Pediatrics at both Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. During his fellowship and tenure as an Instructor, Dr. Misasi conducted research in the lab of Dr. James Cunningham at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, focusing on host factors for filovirus entry.
Later, Dr. Misasi joined the lab of Dr. Nancy Sullivan at the NIH Vaccine Research Center (VRC) in Bethesda, Maryland, initially serving as a Staff Clinician and Assistant Research Clinician. In this capacity, Dr. Misasi led a group dedicated to identifying antibodies and elucidating their structural and functional mechanisms of action. His work contributed to the understanding of antibodies that confer protection against lethal Ebola virus infection and played a role in the advanced development of mAb114 (ansuvimab), one of the two FDA-approved therapies for Ebola virus disease. Subsequently, he assumed the position of Chief of the VRC Yeast Engineering Technology and Immunobiology Core, where his team focused on antibody discovery, protein engineering, and investigating how antibodies bind to and neutralize virus infections, as well as mechanisms of viral immune evasion. Dr. Misasi’s research encompassed viruses such as Ebola, Lassa, HIV, RSV, SARS-CoV-2, and MPOX. He holds inventorship on multiple antibody patents and patent applications covering their use as monospecific and multispecific antibodies for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes.
In late 2023, Dr. Misasi joined the faculty of Boston University at the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory. The lab employs virology, immunology, and structural biology tools to elucidate the mechanisms of antibody action and study virus-host immune system interactions that contribute to human disease. Dr. Misasi’s lab specifically focuses on understanding the relationship between the quality of antibodies produced, disease severity, and long-term immunity. His research aims to identify critical vulnerabilities in the life cycle of high-containment pathogens, determine therapeutic targets, and provide insights for structure-based vaccine design.

Selected Publications

1. Zhou T, Wang L, Misasi J, Pegu A, Zhang Y, Harris DR, Olia AS, Adrienna Talana C, Yang ES, Chen M, Choe M, Shi W, Teng I-T, Creanga A, Jenkins C, Leung K, Liu T, Stancofski ESD, Stephens T, Zhang B, Tsybovsky Y, Graham BS, Mascola JR, Sullivan NJ, Kwong PD. Structural basis for potent antibody neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants including B.1.1.529. Science. 2022 Mar 24; eabn8897. doi: 10.1126/science.abn8897. PMID: 35324257. PMCID: PMC9580340.
2. Wang L, Zhou T, Zhang Y, Yang ES, Schramm CA, Shi W, Pegu A, Oloniniyi OK, Henry AR, Darko A, Narpala SR, Hatcher C, Martinez DR, Tsybovsky Y, Phung E, Abiona OM, Antia A, Cale EM, Chang LA, Choe M, Corbett KS, Davis RL, DiPiazza AT, Gordon IJ, Helmold Hait S, Hermanus T, Kgagudi P, Laboune F, Leung K, Liu T, Mason RD, Nazzari AF, Novik L, O’Connell S, O’Dell S, Olia AS, Schmidt SD, Stephens T, Stringham CD, Talana CA, Teng I, Wagner DA, Widge AT, Zhang B, Roederer M, Ledgerwood JE, Ruckwardt TJ, Gaudinski MR, Moore PL, Doria-Rose NA, Baric RS, Graham BS, McDermott AB, Douek DC, Kwong PD, Mascola JR, Sullivan NJ, Misasi J. Ultrapotent antibodies against diverse and highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants. Science. 2021. DOI: 10.1126/science.abh1766. PMID: 34210892. PMCID: PMC9269068
3. Misasi J and Sullivan NJ. Immunotherapeutic strategies to target vulnerabilities in the Ebolavirus glycoprotein. Immunity. 2021. 54(3):412-436. PMID: 33691133.
4. Corti D, Misasi J, Mulangu S, Stanley DA, Kanekiyo M, Wollen S, Ploquin A, Doria-Rose NA, Staupe RP, Bailey M, Shi W, Choe M, Marcus H, Thompson EA, Cagigi A, Silacci C, Fernandez23 Rodriguez B, Perez L, Sallusto F, Vanzetta F, Agatic G, Cameroni E, Kisalu N, Gordon I, Ledgerwood JE, Mascola JR, Graham BS, Muyembe-Tamfun JJ, Trefry JC, Lanzavecchia A, Sullivan NJ. Protective monotherapy against lethal Ebola virus infection by a potently neutralizing antibody. Science. 2016. 351(6279):1339-1342. PMID: 26917593.
5. Misasi J and Sullivan N. Camouflage and Misdirection: The Full-On Assault of Ebola Virus Disease. 2014. Cell. 2014. 159(3):477-486. PMID: 25417101. PMCID: PMC4243531.
6. Misasi J, Gilman MS, Kanekiyo M, Gui M, Cagigi A, Mulangu S, Corti D, Ledgerwood JE, Lanzavecchia A, Cunningham J, Muyembe-Tamfun JJ, Baxa U, Graham BS, Xiang Y, Sullivan NJ, McLellan JS. Structural and molecular basis for Ebola virus neutralization by protective human antibodies. Science. 2016. 351(6279):1343-1346. PMID: 26917592. PMCID: PMC5241105.
7. Misasi J, Chandran K, Yang JY, Considine B, Sullivan N, Filone CM, Hensley L, Cunningham J. Filoviruses require endosomal cysteine proteases for entry but display distinct protease preferences. J. Virol. 2012. 86(6):3284-3292. PMID: 22238307. PMCID: PMC3302294.
8. Cote M, Misasi J, Ren T, Bruchez A, Lee Kyungae, Filone CM, Hensley L, Li Q, Ory D, Chandran K, Cunningham J. Small molecule inhibitors reveal Niemann-Pick C1 is essential for Ebola virus infection. Nature. 2011. 477(7364):344-8. PMID: 21866101. PMCID: PMC3230319.