Nancy Sullivan (biologist)

Nancy Jean Sullivan is an American cell biologist, virologist, and immunologist. She has served as the director of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University from December 2022 until May 2025. Previously, she was chief of the Biodefense Research Section at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).^[1]

Nancy J. Sullivan
Sullivan in 2015
Born	Nancy Jean Sullivan
Alma mater	Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (ScD, MS) Merrimack College (BS)
Known for	Viral immunology, vaccine development, filovirus biology
Scientific career
Fields	Cell biology, Virology, Immunology
Institutions	National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University
Thesis	Determinants of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein-mediated fusion and antibody neutralization (1997)
Doctoral advisor	Joseph Sodroski
Website	https://www.bu.edu/neidl/profile/nancy-j-sullivan/

Sullivan was awarded the 2020 Science, Technology, and Environment Service to America Medal for the development of ansuvimab, an FDA-approved monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Ebola virus disease.^[2][3]

In 2014, Time magazine recognized all health-care workers and scientists tackling the Ebola viral outbreak in West Africa as its Person of the Year;^[4] specifically recognizing Sullivan's relentless scientific efforts in the development of vaccines targeting the disease.^[5]

Education

Sullivan completed a Doctor of Science from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 1997. She conducted a dissertation in the laboratory of Joseph Sodroski, where her work demonstrated that primary HIV isolates exhibit resistance to antibody neutralization due to occlusion of the co-receptor binding site on the envelope glycoprotein GP120.^[6][7] Sullivan then pursued postdoctoral training under the guidance of Gary Nabel, studying the mechanisms of Ebola virus pathogenesis and immune protection.^[7]

Career

Research

Sullivan’s research is on the immunologic correlates and mechanisms of protection against infection by hemorrhagic fever viruses including Ebola virus. Her work on filovirus immunology and vaccine development is widely considered as one of the very best in the field^{[according to whom?]} despite the difficulties of conducting research under highly specialized BSL-4 containment conditions. Sullivan’s innovative and specialized work on filovirus immunology is recognized worldwide and has consistently been the source of novel observations that have contributed to critical advancements in the field.^[7]

Sullivan’s long-term commitment to Ebola research has resulted in discovery of both vaccines and therapies. By using a novel gene-based prime boost vaccine^[jargon], Sullivan and her team were the first to demonstrate vaccine protection against Ebola infection in primates. This was followed by her discovery of a single shot vaccine that provided more immediate protection, making it a very practical vaccine that could be used in the face of an acute Ebola epidemic. As a result, this vaccination schedule is now standard in the field of Ebola vaccine research, where one of the lead Ebola vaccine candidates, ChAd3-EBOV, has been advanced to Phase I/II and III human clinical trials. More recently, Sullivan and her team discovered a potently protective monoclonal antibody, mAb114, from a human Ebola survivor that completely rescues Ebola-infected primates, even when given as a monotherapy several days after their Ebola exposure.^[7]