Dr. Julia Schaletzky is the Executive Director of CEND, the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases, as well as of the Immunotherapy and Vaccine Research Initiative at UC Berkeley. She trained with Prof. Francis Barr at the Max-Planck-Institute of biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, and at Harvard Medical School in Prof. Tom Rapoport's laboratory. Dr. Schaletzky has more than 10 years industry experience in the biotechnology sector, contributing to the development of first-in-class therapies for heart failure and neurodegenerative diseases. At UC Berkeley, she has been focusing on enabling translational science and entrepreneurship on campus, through collaborations, teaching and program development. Her group has been active the Covid-19 response through helping developing testing capacity, outreach/awareness campaigns, and therapeutic discovery.