Dr. Julie McElrath leads the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at Fred Hutch, which brings together scientists in basic science as well as translational and clinical research to prevent, treat and cure infectious diseases.

The division is home to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, the world’s largest publicly funded international collaboration dedicated to developing and testing HIV-vaccine candidates.

McElrath serves as principal investigator and director of HVTN’s Laboratory Center and directs the Seattle HIV Vaccine Trials Unit, one of many international sites involved in HIV prevention trials.
Her own research explores how the early response by infection-fighting T cells against HIV contributes to control of the virus. She also studies individuals who do not contract HIV despite repeated exposure, as well as those whose infections do not progress for many years.

She holds the Joel D. Meyers Endowed Chair at Fred Hutch. Her honors include the Burroughs Wellcome Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research and a National Institutes of Health MERIT Award.

McElrath received her medical and doctoral degrees and residency training from the Medical University of South Carolina, her clinical training in infectious diseases at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and her postdoctoral training in molecular immunology at The Rockefeller University.