Ricardo Carrion Jr
About Ricardo Carrion Jr
Ricardo Carrion Jr is a Professor and Director of Maximum Containment Contract Research at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, where he has worked in various roles since 2003. He specializes in the development of vaccines and antiviral treatments for hemorrhagic fever viruses and has contributed to significant advancements in the field.
Work at Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Ricardo Carrion Jr has held multiple positions at Texas Biomedical Research Institute since 2003. He served as BSL-4 Laboratory Scientific Manager from 2003 to 2015, followed by roles as Assistant Scientist from 2006 to 2011, Associate Director of the BSL-4 Laboratory from 2015 to 2018, and Associate Scientist from 2012 to 2018. In 2018, he became the Director of Maximum Containment Contract Research and has been in this role for six years. Additionally, he has been a Professor at the institute since 2019.
Education and Expertise
Ricardo Carrion Jr holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Mary's University, a Master of Science in Biology from the University of the Incarnate Word, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. His educational background supports his expertise in BSL-4 laboratories, viral research, and vaccine development.
Research and Development Initiatives
Carrion has developed novel nonhuman primate models for studying various hemorrhagic fever viruses and encephalitis viruses, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, Lassa Virus, Ebolavirus, and Marburgvirus. He has advanced the development of two West Nile Virus vaccines and two live attenuated Lassa fever vaccines, and he is currently investigating novel antivirals for hemorrhagic fever treatment.
Collaborations and Contributions
Carrion collaborates with the University of Louisville to advance a Lassa fever vaccine for prevention and post-exposure therapy. He has also worked with Novavax on COVID-19 vaccine development. His contributions include providing evidence supporting Virus Like Particle (VLP) vaccine platform technology as a viable candidate for preventing filoviral diseases.
Publications and Funding Achievements
Carrion's findings on vaccine efficacy have been published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. He introduced practices and instrumentation that expanded the BSL-4 laboratory's capacity for efficacy studies in nonhuman primates, leading to over $6 million in funded projects in the first two quarters of 2014.