Kelly Warfield

Kelly Warfield, PhD, joined the Sabin Vaccine Institute as its President of Research & Development in August 2024.

In this role, Kelly collaborates with executive team members, cross-functional leaders, and the Board of Trustees to drive Sabin’s strategic vision, manage and grow the R&D team and programs, and harmonize initiatives across departments to maximize impact. She also oversees the advancement of Sabin’s candidate vaccines, including those targeting Marburg and Sudan ebolavirus diseases.

A seasoned scientific leader, Kelly brings extensive expertise and a passion for advancing health through innovative vaccine development. She has a strong track record in building diverse R&D portfolios across government, biotech startups, and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies, and excels at managing public-private partnerships.

In her previous role as senior vice president for science & development at Emergent BioSolutions, she led a multi-national research and development team of more than 300 scientists, managing a diverse pipeline of development programs in discovery through life cycle management with annual budgets exceeding $100 million.

Before joining Emergent BioSolutions in 2014, Kelly co-founded Integrated Biotherapeutics, Inc., where she led vaccine development efforts focusing on antivirals and vaccines for Ebola and Marburg viruses.

Beyond her expertise in vaccine development, Kelly has a deep understanding of novel regulatory pathways, including the Animal Rule and accelerated approval processes. She has successfully navigated U.S. FDA and European Medicines Agency regulations for product approvals.

Kelly began her scientific career as a student intern at the National Cancer Institute. She earned a Ph.D. in microbiology and virology from Baylor College of Medicine. As a postdoctoral fellow at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, she developed vaccines and therapeutics for highly lethal filoviruses and received training to work in advanced biosafety (BSL-3 and BSL-4) containment laboratories.

Kelly is the author of more than 100 publications and book chapters and holds more than 15 patents.

In addition to her professional achievements, Kelly has served on the boards of non-profits and start-ups, and currently advises an organization providing STEM opportunities to underserved communities.

Return to our people