Aleksandar Antanasijevic | Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Global Health Institute
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

I am a biochemist by training, with a strong research background in structural biology and its application to translational research. Over the course of my PhD and Postdoctoral training, I acquired comprehensive technical knowledge of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), x-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM), the three primary methods for determination of biomolecular structures. These methods were applied in the context of viral proteins for the design and evaluation of small molecule inhibitors and vaccine candidates. My work has contributed to the development of several anti-influenza acting small molecule inhibitors, protein nanoparticle carriers for viral antigens (e.g., HIV Env protein, SARS-CoV-2 spike), as well as to several novel structural biology methods for analyses of biomolecular interactions. In July 2022, I moved to Switzerland to take on an Assistant Professor position at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Our Laboratory of Virology and Structural Immunology features a multi-component research program focused on studying antibody-antigen interactions in different systems, with the overarching goal of uncovering the molecular principles regulating B-cell mediated immune response. Some specific topics currently pursued in the lab are (1) structure-guided design of vaccine candidates against challenging pathogens such as HIV and Dengue, (2) antibody-mediated inhibition of toxins from snake venom, and (3) studies of anti-enteroviral antibody content in mucosal tissue secretions and wastewater samples.