Melanie Ott, MD, PhD

“My first experience seeing DNA precipitate; I thought this was magic. Coming from the clinic, I also loved not being restrained by what I had learned and having the opportunity to discover something new.”

Melanie Ott is the Director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

She studies the molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis with a focus on HIV-1 and Hepatitis C Virus. Specifically, she is investigating interactions between the viruses and their target cells to identify targets for novel therapeutics.

Ott is the recipient of the MERIT Award and Avant-Garde Award from the National Institutes of Health and the Chancellor Award for Public Service from UCSF. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Microbiology and Association of American Physicians.

She obtained her M.D. from the University of Frankfurt and her Ph.D. in molecular medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School Of Molecular Medicine. A trained neurologist, she pivoted to virology during the AIDS crisis.