Virus Slayer Awarded ‘Genius Grant’ by MacArthur Foundation

Jason McLellan, a structural biologist at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as a “genius grant.” The award recognizes McLellan’s work to investigate key proteins that enable viruses to infect our cells and develop new interventions to prevent and treat infectious diseases.

McLellan, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry, is one of 22 people selected for the five-year fellowship — a no-strings-attached “investment in a person’s originality, insight and potential.” Recipients are nominated based on proven talent and extraordinary originality and dedication to their creative pursuits. Fellows receive $800,000 stipends that are bestowed with no conditions; recipients may use the money as they see fit.

“I’m extremely honored to be chosen to join this prestigious group of scholars, scientists, teachers and artists,” McLellan said. “I also want to give my heartfelt thanks to all the mentors, collaborators and students and fellows who have contributed to my success. None of this happens in a vacuum — science is a team effort.”

“Jason McLellan’s research has had a profound impact on the world, including his efforts to combat common viruses such as RSV,” said UT President Jim Davis. “We are excited for him to receive this recognition and proud to count him as a member of the UT faculty.”

McLellan and collaborators spearheaded the development of a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — a common virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract and can be especially dangerous in infants and elderly people. Using what is referred to as structure-based design, McLellan helped determine both the structure that a key protein on the surface of RSV takes before and after entering a cell and what needed to be done to ensure the shape-shifting protein could be combated by the immune system. That work led to approval by the Food and Drug Administration of RSV vaccines produced by GSK, Pfizer and Moderna, and his research also informed work on leading monoclonal antibodies to combat RSV.

After working early in his career on RSV, McLellan used his structure-based design approach to study coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS. In the critical early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, McLellan and his collaborators designed a stabilized version of another shape-shifting protein, the SARS-CoV-2 spike, which became a key component in FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Novavax and others. According to a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, COVID-19 vaccines have prevented tens of millions of deaths globally since they became available.

“Jason McLellan embodies scientific excellence and innovative problem solving,” said David Vanden Bout, dean of UT’s College of Natural Sciences. “He is both a thoughtful and collaborative fellow researcher to people who know him well and a source of inspiration to people who have never met him but who have benefited from his research. Fueled by a spirit of public service, he accomplishes what many people enter science to do: help people live longer, healthier lives through discoveries in their labs.”

McLellan, a first-generation college student, earned a B.S. in chemistry with an emphasis in biochemistry from Wayne State University before going on to receive a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He conducted his postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center. He served previously on the faculty at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Among his many awards, McLellan has received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology (2023), the UT Austin President’s Research Impact Award (2023), the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas (2022), and the AAAS Golden Goose Award (2020). In 2023, he was elected a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, and earlier this year, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

McLellan is one of 10 current and emeritus UT faculty members awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, joining: Moriba Jah (Engineering 2022), Monica Muñoz Martinez (History, 2021), Jacqueline Jones (History, 1999), David Hillis (Integrative Biology, 1999), Nancy Moran (Integrative Biology, 1997),  Philip Uri Treisman (Mathematics, 1992), Thomas G. Palaima (Classics, 1985), David Stuart (Linguistics & Archaeology, 1984) and Karen K. Uhlenbeck (Mathematics, 1983).