Chief Operating Officer / Scripps CHAVD
10550 North Torrey Pines Road, IMM-2 La Jolla, CA 92037
Dr. Sal Butera has been dedicated to HIV research and vaccine development during his entire professional career, beginning with his first post-doctoral training period in 1989 as a Research Fellow of the National Research Council. This has resulted in expanding responsibility and opportunity to influence progress through laboratory research and scientific administration. The last 7 years committed to the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery (CHAVI-ID) at The Scripps Research Institute has allowed a continued contribution to the excellent high-impact work of the Center. This focus has now been extended to his role as Chief Operating Officer for the CHAVD.
Prior to coming to Scripps in 2011, Dr. Butera served as the Associate Director for Laboratory Science in the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he was responsible for administration and support of all National Center laboratory activities while serving in the Office of the Director. Dr. Butera advised National Center leadership on matters relating to laboratory science, including the formulation of program goals, objectives and broad operating policies. He also provided scientific, technical, and managerial expertise in the development and enhancement of laboratory programs focused on infectious diseases.
These duties and scientific leadership experiences came after a 17-year research career at CDC focused on HIV virology and preclinical evaluation of biomedical interventions to prevent infection. This research involved an extensive body of work in HIV vaccine development, characterization, immunogenicity, and protection in non-human primate models.