# Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster Associate Professor ![Pablo](/sites/g/files/omnuum5411/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2025-09/pablo.jpg?itok=QLascmBm) location\_on Ctr. for Virology & Vaccine Research: E / CLS-1003 smartphone [617-735-4450](tel:617-735-4450) email laptop\_windows [Lab Website](https://cvvr.hms.harvard.edu/lab/penaloza-macmaster/) **The Penaloza-MacMaster Laboratory** Viral pandemics remain an enduring threat to humanity. The Penaloza-MacMaster Laboratory focuses on developing **novel strategies to prevent and treat viral infections** by integrating fundamental immunology with translational applications. The laboratory was the first to demonstrate that lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of the microbiome, enhances PD-1 blockade therapy during chronic viral infection. The group also showed that transient type I interferon (IFN-I) blockade improves the efficacy of viral vaccines, including those targeting yellow fever virus, HIV-1, and coronaviruses, and expanded this work during the COVID-19 pandemic to include coronavirus vaccines. The laboratory demonstrated that incorporating both spike and nucleocapsid antigens provides broader protection than spike-only vaccines and identified nucleocapsid as a promising target for monoclonal antibody therapy against coronaviruses. In addition, the group showed that a SARS-CoV-1 vaccine developed in 2004 provides cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2, supporting the feasibility of developing pan-coronavirus vaccines targeting conserved elements across major coronavirus subgenera. The laboratory has also extended its expertise in viral immunology to the development of **novel cancer therapies,** focusing on the immunostimulatory properties of arenaviruses and mRNA vaccines. In this work, the group demonstrated potent antitumor effects of replication-attenuated lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) vectors in mice, leading to a funded R01 to evaluate this approach in a clinical trial in companion dogs afflicted with malignant tumors. In addition to his research, Dr. Penaloza-MacMaster is deeply committed to education and other service. Since 2017, he has taught several graduate-level courses to PhD students, including Advanced Immunology and Advanced Virology, and has served on multiple PhD thesis and dissertation committees. He is an **Associate Editor** at the *Journal of Clinical Investigation* and a **standing member** of the Immune Host Defense (IHD) study section at the NIH. He is also committed to advocating for science and evidence-based policy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as a **Task Force Advisor** to the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on vaccines. He has also served on multiple committees within the American Association of Immunologists (**AAI**), including as a member of the AAI Education Committee, an AAI block symposium organizer, and an AAI Capitol Hill Advocate, which included meeting with members of Congress to support increased NIH funding for biomedical research. The Penaloza-MacMaster Laboratory is located at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research (CVVR) in the Harvard Longwood Medical Area at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). - ## Experimental Approach [Cellular Immunology](/experimental-approach/cellular-immunology) - ## Field of Study [Cancer Immunology](/field-study/cancer-immunology) [Immune Response to Infection](/field-study/immune-response-infection) [Immunotherapy](/field-study/immunotherapy) [T Cells](/field-study/t-cells) [Vaccines](/field-study/vaccines) - ## Location [Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center](/location/beth-israel-deaconess-medical-center) - ## Organism [Human](/organism/human) [Mouse](/organism/mouse) [Non Human Primates](/organism/non-human-primates) - ## People [Faculty](/people/faculty) - ## Year Entered Program [2025](/year-entered-program/2025)