Visiting Scholars

Julio R. Escartin, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán”

Dr. Julio R. Escartin earned his B.S. in Biotechnology from the Interdisciplinary Professional Unit of Biotechnology in Mexico City in 2011. He subsequently completed his M.D. and Ph.D. in Medical Research at the Superior School of Medicine. During his postgraduate studies, he investigated how the pore-forming toxin Cytolysin from Vibrio cholerae activates the innate immune system in macrophages, particularly the MAPK pathway and the transcription factors involved in the inflammasome response.

In 2024, he joined Dr. Miguel A. Torres’s Gene Therapy & Vaccine Group in the Gastroenterology Laboratory at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán,” contributing his expertise in immunology to lead the development of a viral vector–based vaccine against Helicobacter pylori. In 2025, he joined the Institute as a postdoctoral fellow. In October 2025, he became a visiting scholar in Weissman’s Lab, working under the supervision of Dr. Jibin Zhou. His current research focuses on designing an innovative multi-epitope vaccine against H. pylori using mRNA–LNP technology.

Si-Han Wu, Ph.D.

Professor at Taipei Medical University (TMU)

Si-Han Wu, Ph.D., is a Professor at Taipei Medical University (TMU) and a Visiting Scholar in Dr. Drew Weissman’s laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from National Taiwan University under the mentorship of Dr. Chung-Yuan Mou. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Academia Sinica, Dr. Wu joined TMU in 2015, where he established a research program focused on translational nanomedicine. His expertise lies in the development of functionalized mesoporous silica and lipid-based platforms for targeted drug delivery. At the Weissman Lab, he collaborates with Dr. Jillian Melamed and Dr. Elena Atochina-Vasserman to elucidate nano-bio interactions and design next-generation RNA-based nanotherapeutics. Dr. Wu’s work aims to bridge the gap between chemical innovation and clinical application while fostering international academic collaborations in RNA technology and immunology.