Babak Javid, MB BChir, PhD

Babak is an infectious diseases physician-scientist and Associate Professor in the Division of Experimental Medicine at UCSF. He went to medical school at the University of Cambridge and, after residency in general (internal) medicine, returned to Cambridge to study for a PhD in immunobiology as an MRC training fellow in the lab of Paul Lehner. There, he studied the cross-presentation of heat-shock protein/peptide complexes by human dendritic cells to human cytotoxic lymphocytes. 

Following a fellowship in infectious diseases, Babak became fascinated by the clinical and scientific aspects of tuberculosis. He went to Boston as an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow to work on mycobacterial genetics with Eric Rubin at Harvard.  It was at Harvard that Babak first discovered that the protein synthesis apparatus of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is rather different from the "standard" E. coli model and, in particular, that mycobacteria have extremely high but specific translational error rates (mistranslation). He started his independent research career in 2011 at Tsinghua University in Beijing and joined the faculty at UCSF in July 2020.

The Javid lab has an interest in multiple aspects of tuberculosis pathophysiology that span fundamental biology to translational applications. In particular, we are interested in how features of mycobacterial protein synthesis allow Mtb to adapt to hostile environments such as antibiotic treatment and the host. The lab also investigates the role of antibody-mediated immunity to tuberculosis, using a "learning from the body" approach, i.e. with a focus on naturally occurring human immunity that is then mechanistically explored in experimental models.

In addition to the lab's research focus, Babak has a keen interest in mentorship and bringing together diverse researchers to tackle the global challenge of tuberculosis. With regards to the latter role, he is Associate Director (Basic Research) of the UCSF Center for Tuberculosis and Co-PI of the Basic Science Core of the UC-TRAC (Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center) -- one of six national Centers of Excellence for TB Research. Outside of the lab, Babak enjoys learning to cook, engaging in Baha'i activities, watching movies (trashy Sci-Fi is always welcome!), and spending time with his family.