Mark T. Esser
Using my knowledge of microbiology, immunology and drug development I work with scientists, physicians and engineers to discover and develop medicines to prevent and treat diseases. As vice president of Microbial Sciences, I oversee microbiome discovery and early infectious disease R&D programs from concept through phase 2 clinical trials. I also serve as the global product development lead for a long-acting antibody combination being evaluated for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Over my 20 year career I have enjoyed pushing the boundaries of science to discover and deliver life-saving medicines. My role sees me collaborate closely with both AstraZeneca staff and external partners in academia and government to address medical and scientific needs. I am fortunate to have participated in several drug approvals, have 5 patents and have authored 85 peer-reviewed articles.
I started my career as a scientist in vaccine R&D at Merck after gaining my PhD in Microbiology from the University of Virginia and completing my fellowship at the AIDS Vaccine Program at the NIH.
I also enjoy serving on the Gaithersburg site leadership team ensuring we have state of the art laboratories and that we are a great place to work.
It's been astonishing to see how everyone at AstraZeneca has risen to the challenge to fight COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and antibody development is not for the faint of heart but clearly we are in this COVID-19 fight to the finish.
2020 AstraZeneca CEO Award
2020 AstraZeneca R&D Award
2010 Most notable people
CURRENT ROLE
2021
2020
2015
Featured publications
Global Molecular Epidemiology of Respiratory Syncytial Virus from the 2017-2018 INFORM-RSV Study
Tabor DE, Fernandes F, Langedijk AC, Wilkins D, Lebbink RJ, Tovchigrechko A, Ruzin A, Kragten-Tabatabaie L, Jin H, Esser MT, Bont LJ, Abram ME; INFORM-RSV Study Group. Global Molecular Epidemiology of Respiratory Syncytial Virus from the 2017-2018 INFORM-RSV Study. J Clin Microbiol. 2020 Dec 17;59(1):e01828-20.
Single-Dose Nirsevimab for Prevention of RSV in Preterm Infants
Griffin MP, Yuan Y, Takas T, Domachowske JB, Madhi SA, Manzoni P, Simões EAF, Esser MT, Khan AA, Dubovsky F, Villafana T, DeVincenzo JP; Nirsevimab Study Group. Single-Dose Nirsevimab for Prevention of RSV in Preterm Infants. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jul 30;383(5):415-425.
Efficacy and safety of suvratoxumab for prevention of Staphylococcus aureus ventilator-associated pneumonia (SAATELLITE): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, phase 2 pilot trial
Bruno François, Hasan S Jafri, Jean Chastre, Miguel Sánchez-García, Philippe Eggimann, Pierre-François Dequin, Vincent Huberlant, Lucia Viña Soria, Thierry Boulain, Cédric Bretonnière, Jérôme Pugin, Josep Trenado, Ana Catalina Hernandez Padilla, Omar Ali, Kathryn Shoemaker, Pin Ren, Frank E Coenjaerts, Alexey Ruzin, Olivier Barraud, Leen Timbermont, Christine Lammens , Vadryn Pierre, Yuling Wu, Julie Vignaud, Susan Colbert, Terramika Bellamy, Mark T Esser, Filip Dubovsky, Marc J Bonten, Herman Goossens , Pierre-François Laterre, COMBACTE Consortium and the SAATELLITE Study Group
Characterization of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolated from HIV-exposed-uninfected and HIV-unexposed infants in South Africa during 2015-2017
Liu H, Lu B, Tabor DE, Tovchigrechko A, Wilkins D, Jin H, Madhi SA, Soofie N, Esser MT, Nunes MC. Characterization of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolated from HIV-exposed-uninfected and HIV-unexposed infants in South Africa during 2015-2017. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2020 Jul;14(4):403-411
Microbial burden and viral exacerbations in a longitudinal multicenter COPD cohort.
Bouquet J, Tabor DE, Silver JS, Nair V, Tovchigrechko A, Griffin MP, Esser MT, Sellman BR, Jin H. Microbial burden and viral exacerbations in a longitudinal multicenter COPD cohort. Respir Res. 2020 Mar 30;21(1):77
https://respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-020-01340-0
Antibody and B cell responses to an investigational adjuvanted RSV vaccine for older adults.
Weinberg A, Lambert SL, Canniff J, Yu L, Lang N, Esser MT, Falloon J, Levin MJ. Antibody and B cell responses to an investigational adjuvanted RSV vaccine for older adults. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2019 Mar 9.