# Julie McElrath

M. Juliana "Julie" McElrath (born January 9, 1951) is a senior vice president and director of the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network Laboratory Center in Seattle, Washington. She is also a professor at the University of Washington.
McElrath has built and maintains an international HIV vaccine laboratory, in effort to contribute to the mechanistic understanding of how HIV-1—the most common and pathogenic strain of the virus—enters mucosal surfaces to infect people. Her work is focused on developing an HIV vaccine and investigating the complex relationship between HIV and the immune system. She is supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

## Education and career

McElrath obtained a B.S. in biology from Furman University, a Ph.D. in pathology, and an M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina. After completing her residency in internal medicine, she received her clinical fellowship training in infectious diseases at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and her post-doctoral training in molecular immunology at Rockefeller University in New York.
During the early 1980s, while working as a medical resident in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, McElrath gained interest in HIV/AIDS research. This interest was compounded by her focus on infectious diseases in New York City.
In 1988, she became an assistant professor at Rockefeller University. In 1990, McElrath relocated to Seattle, accepting a position at the University of Washington as an assistant professor and directing the HIV AIDS Madison Clinic at Harborview Medical Center. Within two years, she shifted her focus back to research work pursuing the development of an HIV vaccine. She became the director of the AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Unit at the University of Washington.
In 1996, McElrath joined the faculty at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, bringing her work toward an HIV vaccine to the center. She was honored with an NIH Merit Award for her research and served as associate editor of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Over time, she became a full professor at the University of Washington, a full member at Fred Hutch, and the director of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HTVN) Laboratory Center. Headquartered at Fred Hutch, HVTN is the world's largest network that tests vaccines designed to prevent HIV.
McElrath, her colleagues, and collaborators at Duke University and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine published work pinpointing "immune correlates" that were associated with reduced HIV risk. One of their key findings suggested the vaccines might spur some recipients to make antibodies that prevent HIV infection. McElrath's quest to develop an HIV vaccine spurred her effort to launch a new immunology lab, Cape Town HVTN Immunology in Cape Town, South Africa. That facility opened its doors in 2013.
In addition to her work with HVTN and at Fred Hutch, McElrath is an attending physician at Harborview Medical Center, the University of Washington Medical Center, and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the treatment arm of Fred Hutch. She has published nearly 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals, the majority of which focus on HIV/AIDS. In 2007, she co-founded the Vaccine Infectious Disease Institute at Fred Hutch and has served as the sole director of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at Fred Hutch since 2011.

## Research

McElrath's scientific interests include investigations to understand the human immune responses that regulate and prevent HIV-1 infection. She continues to be involved in a global initiative to develop an HIV-1 vaccine, and in research aiming to identify innate and mucosal immune defenses generated following vaccination. McElrath has taken a leadership role or has been a significant contributor to numerous integrated programs at the national and international level to advance a coordinated effort to curb the HIV epidemic through prevention efforts. Those include: the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, the Gates Foundation Innate Immunity Consortium (PI), the Microbicide Trials Network (Director, Immunology Core), and the Seattle Vaccine Trials Unit (PI).
In the McElrath Laboratory at Fred Hutch, a primary goal is to determine how T cell memory is induced both in natural infection and by immunization. McElrath and her team also are working to identify the properties of T cells that confer containment or eradication of HIV-1. Their studies span a wide array of immunologic investigations in persons who experience unusual control of HIV-1 infection, including individuals with newly diagnosed infection, those with long-term non-progressive disease who control infection for more than a decade without anti-retroviral treatment, and people repeatedly exposed but not infected. These clinical cohorts have been assembled for longitudinal studies in both Seattle and in two nations where the HIV epidemic is widespread—South Africa and Uganda.
On Dec. 1, 2015, the work of McElrath and HTVN scientists pursuing a vaccine to potentially halt HIV and AIDS was highlighted in an HBO/VICE special report titled "Countdown to Zero."

## Honors

McElrath is a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. She is a past recipient of the Burroughs Welcome Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research, a National Institutes of Health Merit Award, and the GAIA Vaccine Foundation Award. She serves on numerous scientific advisory committees and boards for institutions, government, and industry.

## Selected works

* McElrath, M. J; Pruett, J. E; Cohn, Z. A (1989). "Mononuclear phagocytes of blood and bone marrow: Comparative roles as viral reservoirs in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infections". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 86 (2): 675–9. Bibcode:1989PNAS...86..675M. doi:10.1073/pnas.86.2.675. PMC 286536. PMID 2492110.
* Cooney, E. L; McElrath, M. J; Corey, L; Hu, S. L; Collier, A. C; Arditti, D; Hoffman, M; Coombs, R. W; Smith, G. E; Greenberg, P. D (1993). "Enhanced immunity to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope elicited by a combined vaccine regimen consisting of priming with a vaccinia recombinant expressing HIV envelope and boosting with gp160 protein". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 90 (5): 1882–6. Bibcode:1993PNAS...90.1882C. doi:10.1073/pnas.90.5.1882. PMC 45984. PMID 8446603.
* McElrath, M. J; Corey, L; Berger, D; Hoffman, M. C; Klucking, S; Dragavon, J; Peterson, E; Greenberg, P. D (1994). "Immune Responses Elicited by Recombinant Vaccinia-Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Envelope and HIV Envelope Protein: Analysis of the Durability of Responses and Effect of Repeated Boosting". Journal of Infectious Diseases. 169 (1): 41–7. doi:10.1093/infdis/169.1.41. PMID 8277196.
* McElrath, M. J; Rabin, M; Hoffman, M; Klucking, S; Garcia, J. V; Greenberg, P. D (1994). "Evaluation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses utilizing B-lymphoblastoid cell lines transduced with the CD4 gene and infected with HIV-1". Journal of Virology. 68 (8): 5074–83. doi:10.1128/JVI.68.8.5074-5083.1994. PMC 236450. PMID 8035507.
* McElrath, M. J; Corey, L; Greenberg, P. D; Matthews, T. J; Montefiori, D. C; Rowen, L; Hood, L; Mullins, J. I (1996). "Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection despite prior immunization with a recombinant envelope vaccine regimen". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 93 (9): 3972–7. Bibcode:1996PNAS...93.3972M. doi:10.1073/pnas.93.9.3972. PMC 39470. PMID 8633000.
* Musey, Luwy; Hughes, James; Schacker, Timothy; Shea, Theresa; Corey, Lawrence; McElrath, M. Juliana (1997). "Cytotoxic-T-Cell Responses, Viral Load, and Disease Progression in Early Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection". New England Journal of Medicine. 337 (18): 1267–74. doi:10.1056/NEJM199710303371803. PMID 9345075.
* Goh, W. C; Markee, J; Akridge, R. E; Meldorf, M; Musey, L; Karchmer, T; Krone, M; Collier, A; Corey, L; Emerman, M; McElrath, M. J (1999). "Protection against Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection in Persons with Repeated Exposure: Evidence for T Cell Immunity in the Absence of Inherited CCR5 Coreceptor Defects". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 179 (3): 548–57. doi:10.1086/314632. PMID 9952360.
* Musey, Luwy K; Krieger, John N; Hughes, James P; Schacker, Timothy W; Corey, Lawrence; McElrath, M. Juliana (1999). "Early and Persistent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV‐1)–Specific T Helper Dysfunction in Blood and Lymph Nodes following Acute HIV‐1 Infection". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 180 (2): 278–84. doi:10.1086/314868. PMID 10395840.
* Malhotra, Uma; Berrey, M. Michelle; Huang, Yijian; Markee, Janan; Brown, Darin J; Ap, Sophe; Musey, Luwy; Schacker, Timothy; Corey, Lawrence; McElrath, M. Juliana (2000). "Effect of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy on T‐Cell Immunity in Acute Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 181 (1): 121–31. doi:10.1086/315202. PMID 10608758. S2CID 18994806.
* McElrath, M. Juliana; Corey, Lawrence; Montefiori, David; Wolff, Mark; Elrath, M. Juliana; Keefer, Michael; Belshe, Robert (2000). "A Phase II Study of Two HIV Type 1 Envelope Vaccines, Comparing Their Immunogenicity in Populations at Risk for Acquiring HIV Type 1 Infection". AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 16 (9): 907–19. doi:10.1089/08892220050042846. PMID 10875616.
* Russell, Nina D; Hudgens, Michael G; Ha, Richard; Havenar‐Daughton, Colin; McElrath, M. Juliana (2003). "Moving to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Vaccine Efficacy Trials: Defining T Cell Responses As Potential Correlates of Immunity". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 187 (2): 226–42. doi:10.1086/367702. PMID 12552447.
* Zhu, T; Corey, L; Hwangbo, Y; Lee, J. M; Learn, G. H; Mullins, J. I; McElrath, M. J (2003). "Persistence of Extraordinarily Low Levels of Genetically Homogeneous Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Exposed Seronegative Individuals". Journal of Virology. 77 (11): 6108–16. doi:10.1128/JVI.77.11.6108-6116.2003. PMC 154986. PMID 12743268.
* Musey, L; Ding, Y; Elizaga, M; Ha, R; Celum, C; McElrath, M. J (2014). "HIV-1 Vaccination Administered Intramuscularly Can Induce Both Systemic and Mucosal T Cell Immunity in HIV-1-Uninfected Individuals". The Journal of Immunology. 171 (2): 1094–101. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.171.2.1094. PMID 12847284.
* Speelmon, E. C; Livingston-Rosanoff, D; Li, S. S; Vu, Q; Bui, J; Geraghty, D. E; Zhao, L. P; McElrath, M. J (2006). "Genetic Association of the Antiviral Restriction Factor TRIM5 with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection". Journal of Virology. 80 (5): 2463–71. doi:10.1128/JVI.80.5.2463-2471.2006. PMC 1395369. PMID 16474153.
* Horton, H; Frank, I; Baydo, R; Jalbert, E; Penn, J; Wilson, S; McNevin, J. P; McSweyn, M. D; Lee, D; Huang, Y; De Rosa, S. C; McElrath, M. J (2006). "Preservation of T Cell Proliferation Restricted by Protective HLA Alleles is Critical for Immune Control of HIV-1 Infection". The Journal of Immunology. 177 (10): 7406–15. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.177.10.7406. PMID 17082660.
* Hladik, Florian; Sakchalathorn, Polachai; Ballweber, Lamar; Lentz, Gretchen; Fialkow, Michael; Eschenbach, David; McElrath, M. Juliana (2007). "Initial Events in Establishing Vaginal Entry and Infection by Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1". Immunity. 26 (2): 257–70. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2007.01.007. PMC 1885958. PMID 17306567.
* Qin, Li; Gilbert, Peter B; Corey, Lawrence; McElrath, M. Juliana; Self, Steven G (2007). "A Framework for Assessing Immunological Correlates of Protection in Vaccine Trials". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 196 (9): 1304–12. doi:10.1086/522428. PMID 17922394.
* Hladik, Florian; McElrath, M. Juliana (2008). "Setting the stage: Host invasion by HIV". Nature Reviews Immunology. 8 (6): 447–57. doi:10.1038/nri2302. PMC 2587276. PMID 18469831.
* McElrath, M Juliana; De Rosa, Stephen C; Moodie, Zoe; Dubey, Sheri; Kierstead, Lisa; Janes, Holly; Defawe, Olivier D; Carter, Donald K; Hural, John; Akondy, Rama; Buchbinder, Susan P; Robertson, Michael N; Mehrotra, Devan V; Self, Steven G; Corey, Lawrence; Shiver, John W; Casimiro, Danilo R (2008). "HIV-1 vaccine-induced immunity in the test-of-concept Step Study: A case–cohort analysis". The Lancet. 372 (9653): 1894–1905. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61592-5. PMC 2774110. PMID 19012957.
* Doehle, B. P; Hladik, F; McNevin, J. P; McElrath, M. J; Gale, M (2009). "Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Mediates Global Disruption of Innate Antiviral Signaling and Immune Defenses within Infected Cells". Journal of Virology. 83 (20): 10395–405. doi:10.1128/JVI.00849-09. PMC 2753137. PMID 19706707.
* McElrath, M. Juliana; Haynes, Barton F (2010). "Induction of Immunity to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 by Vaccination". Immunity. 33 (4): 542–54. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2010.09.011. PMC 3031162. PMID 21029964.
* Migueles, Stephen A; Rood, Julia E; Berkley, Amy M; Guo, Tiffany; Mendoza, Daniel; Patamawenu, Andy; Hallahan, Claire W; Cogliano, Nancy A; Frahm, Nicole; Duerr, Ann; McElrath, M. Juliana; Connors, Mark (2011). "Trivalent Adenovirus Type 5 HIV Recombinant Vaccine Primes for Modest Cytotoxic Capacity That is Greatest in Humans with Protective HLA Class I Alleles". PLOS Pathogens. 7 (2): e1002002. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002002. PMC 3044701. PMID 21383976.
* Elahi, Shokrollah; Dinges, Warren L; Lejarcegui, Nicholas; Laing, Kerry J; Collier, Ann C; Koelle, David M; McElrath, M Juliana; Horton, Helen (2011). "Protective HIV-specific CD8+ T cells evade Treg cell suppression". Nature Medicine. 17 (8): 989–95. doi:10.1038/nm.2422. PMC 3324980. PMID 21765403.
* De Rosa, S. C; Thomas, E. P; Bui, J; Huang, Y; Decamp, A; Morgan, C; Kalams, S. A; Tomaras, G. D; Akondy, R; Ahmed, R; Lau, C.-Y; Graham, B. S; Nabel, G. J; McElrath, M. J (2011). "HIV-DNA Priming Alters T Cell Responses to HIV-Adenovirus Vaccine Even when Responses to DNA Are Undetectable". The Journal of Immunology. 187 (6): 3391–401. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1101421. PMC 3180898. PMID 21844392.
* Frahm, Nicole; Decamp, Allan C; Friedrich, David P; Carter, Donald K; Defawe, Olivier D; Kublin, James G; Casimiro, Danilo R; Duerr, Ann; Robertson, Michael N; Buchbinder, Susan P; Huang, Yunda; Spies, Gregory A; Rosa, Stephen C. De; McElrath, M. Juliana (2012). "Human adenovirus-specific T cells modulate HIV-specific T cell responses to an Ad5-vectored HIV-1 vaccine". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 122 (1): 359–67. doi:10.1172/JCI60202. PMC 3248307. PMID 22201684.
* Haynes, Barton F; Gilbert, Peter B; McElrath, M. Juliana; Zolla-Pazner, Susan; Tomaras, Georgia D; Alam, S. Munir; Evans, David T; Montefiori, David C; Karnasuta, Chitraporn; Sutthent, Ruengpueng; Liao, Hua-Xin; Devico, Anthony L; Lewis, George K; Williams, Constance; Pinter, Abraham; Fong, Youyi; Janes, Holly; Decamp, Allan; Huang, Yunda; Rao, Mangala; Billings, Erik; Karasavvas, Nicos; Robb, Merlin L; Ngauy, Viseth; De Souza, Mark S; Paris, Robert; Ferrari, Guido; Bailer, Robert T; Soderberg, Kelly A; et al. (2012). "Immune-Correlates Analysis of an HIV-1 Vaccine Efficacy Trial". New England Journal of Medicine. 366 (14): 1275–86. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1113425. PMC 3371689. PMID 22475592.
* Zak, D. E; Andersen-Nissen, E; Peterson, E. R; Sato, A; Hamilton, M. K; Borgerding, J; Krishnamurty, A. T; Chang, J. T; Adams, D. J; Hensley, T. R; Salter, A. I; Morgan, C. A; Duerr, A. C; De Rosa, S. C; Aderem, A; McElrath, M. J (2012). "Merck Ad5/HIV induces broad innate immune activation that predicts CD8+ T-cell responses but is attenuated by preexisting Ad5 immunity". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (50): E3503–12. Bibcode:2012PNAS..109E3503Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.1208972109. PMC 3528489. PMID 23151505.
* McElrath, M. J; Smythe, K; Randolph-Habecker, J; Melton, K. R; Goodpaster, T. A; Hughes, S. M; Mack, M; Sato, A; Diaz, G; Steinbach, G; Novak, R. M; Curlin, M; Lord, J. D; Maenza, J; Duerr, A; Frahm, N; Hladik, Florian (2013). "Comprehensive Assessment of HIV Target Cells in the Distal Human Gut Suggests Increasing HIV Susceptibility Toward the Anus". Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 63 (3): 263–71. doi:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3182898392. PMC 3683090. PMID 23392465.
* Janes, Holly; Friedrich, David P; Krambrink, Amy; Smith, Rebecca J; Kallas, Esper G; Horton, Helen; Casimiro, Danilo R; Carrington, Mary; Geraghty, Daniel E; Gilbert, Peter B; McElrath, M. Juliana; Frahm, Nicole (2013). "Vaccine-Induced Gag-Specific T Cells Are Associated with Reduced Viremia After HIV-1 Infection". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 208 (8): 1231–9. doi:10.1093/infdis/jit322. PMC 3778967. PMID 23878319.
* Haynes, Barton F; McElrath, M. Juliana (2013). "Progress in HIV-1 vaccine development". Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. 8 (4): 326–32. doi:10.1097/COH.0b013e328361d178. PMC 3947525. PMID 23743722.
* Hammer, Scott M; Sobieszczyk, Magdalena E; Janes, Holly; Karuna, Shelly T; Mulligan, Mark J; Grove, Doug; Koblin, Beryl A; Buchbinder, Susan P; Keefer, Michael C; Tomaras, Georgia D; Frahm, Nicole; Hural, John; Anude, Chuka; Graham, Barney S; Enama, Mary E; Adams, Elizabeth; Dejesus, Edwin; Novak, Richard M; Frank, Ian; Bentley, Carter; Ramirez, Shelly; Fu, Rong; Koup, Richard A; Mascola, John R; Nabel, Gary J; Montefiori, David C; Kublin, James; McElrath, M. Juliana; Corey, Lawrence; Gilbert, Peter B (2013). "Efficacy Trial of a DNA/rAd5 HIV-1 Preventive Vaccine". New England Journal of Medicine. 369 (22): 2083–92. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1310566. PMC 4030634. PMID 24099601.
* MacKelprang, Romel D; Bigham, Abigail W; Celum, Connie; De Bruyn, Guy; Beima-Sofie, Kristin; John-Stewart, Grace; Ronald, Allan; Mugo, Nelly R; Buckingham, Kati J; Bamshad, Michael J; Mullins, James I; McElrath, M. Juliana; Lingappa, Jairam R (2014). "Toll-like Receptor Polymorphism Associations with HIV-1 Outcomes Among Sub-Saharan Africans". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 209 (10): 1623–7. doi:10.1093/infdis/jit807. PMC 3997584. PMID 24325963.
* Li, Shuying S; Gilbert, Peter B; Tomaras, Georgia D; Kijak, Gustavo; Ferrari, Guido; Thomas, Rasmi; Pyo, Chul-Woo; Zolla-Pazner, Susan; Montefiori, David; Liao, Hua-Xin; Nabel, Gary; Pinter, Abraham; Evans, David T; Gottardo, Raphael; Dai, James Y; Janes, Holly; Morris, Daryl; Fong, Youyi; Edlefsen, Paul T; Li, Fusheng; Frahm, Nicole; Alpert, Michael D; Prentice, Heather; Rerks-Ngarm, Supachai; Pitisuttithum, Punnee; Kaewkungwal, Jaranit; Nitayaphan, Sorachai; Robb, Merlin L; O'Connell, Robert J; et al. (2014). "FCGR2C polymorphisms associate with HIV-1 vaccine protection in RV144 trial". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 124 (9): 3879–90. doi:10.1172/JCI75539. PMC 4151214. PMID 25105367.
* Lemos, Maria P; Lama, Javier R; Karuna, Shelly T; Fong, Youyi; Montano, Silvia M; Ganoza, Carmela; Gottardo, Raphael; Sanchez, Jorge; McElrath, M. Juliana (2014). "The Inner Foreskin of Healthy Males at Risk of HIV Infection Harbors Epithelial CD4+ CCR5+ Cells and Has Features of an Inflamed Epidermal Barrier". PLOS ONE. 9 (9): e108954. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j8954L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108954. PMC 4182607. PMID 25268493.
* Kahle, Erin M; Bolton, Michael; Hughes, James P; Donnell, Deborah; Celum, Connie; Lingappa, Jairam R; Ronald, Allan; Cohen, Craig R; De Bruyn, Guy; Fong, Youyi; Katabira, Elly; McElrath, M. Juliana; Baeten, Jared M; Celum, Connie; Wald, Anna; Lingappa, Jairam; Magaret, Amalia; Hughes, James P; Corey, Lawrence; Baeten, Jared M; McElrath, M. Juliana; Coetzee, David; Fife, Kenneth; Were, Edwin; Essex, Max; Makhema, Joseph; Katabira, Elly; Ronald, Allan; Bukusi, Elizabeth; et al. (2015). "Plasma Cytokine Levels and Risk of HIV Type 1 (HIV-1) Transmission and Acquisition: A Nested Case-Control Study Among HIV-1–Serodiscordant Couples". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 211 (9): 1451–60. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiu621. PMC 4447828. PMID 25389306.
* Cohen, Kristen W; Dugast, Anne-Sophie; Alter, Galit; McElrath, M. Juliana; Stamatatos, Leonidas (2015). "HIV-1 Single-Stranded RNA Induces CXCL13 Secretion in Human Monocytes via TLR7 Activation and Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell–Derived Type I IFN". The Journal of Immunology. 194 (6): 2769–75. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1400952. PMC 4363079. PMID 25667414.
* Lemos, M P; Karuna, S T; Mize, G J; Fong, Y; Montano, S M; Ganoza, C; Lama, J R; Sanchez, J; McElrath, M J (2015). "In men at risk of HIV infection, IgM, IgG1, IgG3 and IgA reach the human foreskin epidermis". Mucosal Immunology. 9 (3): 798–808. doi:10.1038/mi.2015.103. PMC 4848120. PMID 26509877.