Press Releases

Immunologist Estelle Bettelli, PhD, has joined the faculty at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI). As an assistant member, Bettelli will start a new laboratory within BRI’s Immunology Program to focus on understanding the development, regulation and functions of the adaptive immune system in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. She will also contribute to BRI's new Program for Autoimmune Disease Intervention and receive an affiliate appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington.

"We are thrilled to have Estelle Bettelli join our team and continue research that will lead to better therapies for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases," said Jack Nagan, executive director at BRI and vice president for research at Virginia Mason.

Bettelli has dedicated most of her career to understanding the immunological mechanisms leading to the development of multiple sclerosis and to developing better system models to further define the different forms of the disease. Prior to joining BRI, she served as an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Formerly, she served as an instructor in the Department of Neurology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston following a postdoctoral fellowship. Bettelli received her bachelor of science in cellular biology from the Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC) in Paris and completed her doctorate in hematology and immunology at Paris Diderot University.