Every second, millions of molecular processes take place in the human body to detect and intercept emerging abnormalities before they develop into overt disease. These ‘immunity’ processes can be remarkably effective, often exceeding what modern medicine can currently achieve. Yet evolution has not fully optimized immunity, particularly against diseases that tend to occur later in life. Dr Jerby and her laboratory study these dynamic, self-organizing processes to further evolve and engineer them as programmable mechanisms for disease treatment and prevention. Integrating functional genomics, directed evolution, and rational design, they identify the central constraints and reconfigure immunity across scales, from generating new proteins and receptors to cell functions and coordinated responses at the whole-body level.

The Jerby laboratory have recently uncovered programmable, GPCR-based metabolite-sensing mechanisms to engineer and mobilize immune cells to solid tumors, providing a foundation for spatially targeted cell therapies; identified RNA-based interventions that target immune evasion and enhance the clearance of cancer and virally infected cells in ways that are not accessible through conventional drugs; developed optical genetic screens and other tools to track the impact of genetic perturbations in intact tissues; and mapped tumor organization at unprecedented scales.

Dr Jerby is an Assistant Professor of Genetics at Stanford University. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and earned BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Life and Computer Sciences from Tel Aviv University. She has received numerous awards, including the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator Award, the Paul G Allen Distinguished Investigator Award, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance Liz Tilberis Early Career Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize, and the V Foundation Translational Award. 

Jerby Lab