William B. Klimstra, Ph.D., is a leading expert in molecular virology and immunology, with a research focus on the pathogenesis of mosquito- and tick-borne viruses and the development of vaccines and therapeutics against emerging viral threats. He is a tenured professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a member of the Center for Vaccine Research.
Over the past two decades, Klimstra has led a research program that investigates how viruses interact with the host immune system at the cellular and molecular levels. His work has elucidated mechanisms by which alphaviruses, such as Venezuelan, eastern, and western equine encephalitis viruses, evade and exploit host cells’ molecular machinery to suppress immunity. These insights have informed the rational design of live attenuated and inactivated vaccines and antibody therapeutics.
Klimstra’s research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies. He has authored more than100 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to major virology reference texts, including Fields Virology. He is also co-founder of Advanced Virology, a biotechnology company focused on using reverse genetics for production of standardized virus stocks to be used in vaccine and therapeutic testing.
A dedicated mentor and educator, Klimstra has trained numerous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. He is a frequent reviewer for top-tier journals and NIH study sections and has served as chairperson of Institutional Biosafety Committees at multiple universities.
Klimstra earned his Bachelor of Arts in Microbiology from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also completed postdoctoral training in molecular virology and was promoted to assistant professor.
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