Summa Bibby

Dr. Summa Bibby is a structural virologist whose research focuses on understanding flavivirus structure and how changes in viral architecture influence antigenicity, with direct implications for vaccine and therapeutic design. Using cryo-electron microscopy and complementary molecular approaches, Dr. Bibby investigates the architecture of flavivirus particles and their envelope proteins. Her doctoral work demonstrated that a single amino acid residue in the yellow fever virus envelope protein can significantly alter virion architecture and antigenic properties, providing new insights into the relationship between flavivirus structure and immune recognition. Through this work, Dr. Bibby developed strong expertise in virus structure–function relationships, antibody development, and cryogenic-electron microscopy. Currently, Dr. Bibby is working to develop next-generation flavivirus vaccines and therapeutics. Cryogenic Electron Microscopy: Cryogenic electron microscopy is a research technique which allows for the structure of viruses and viral proteins to be resolved at a high-resolution. Flavivirus Structures: I study flavivirus structures to uncover key immunological features that aid in the development of next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. Vaccine and Therapeutic Development: After studying the immunological landscape of flaviviruses, the key findings can be used to develop next-generation vaccines and antibody therapeutics. These can then be characterised and assessed in both in vivo and in vitro models.

[2025] Journal Article: A single residue in the yellow fever virus envelope protein modulates virion architecture and antigenicity. Bibby, Summa, Jung, James, Low, Yu Shang, Amarilla, Alberto A., Newton, Natalee D., Scott, Connor A. P., Balk, Jessica, Ting, Yi Tian, Freney, Morgan E., Liang, Benjamin, Grant, Timothy, Coulibaly, Fasséli, Young, Paul, Hall, Roy A., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Modhiran, Naphak and Watterson, Daniel (2025). A single residue in the yellow fever virus envelope protein modulates virion architecture and antigenicity. Nature Communications, 16 (1) 8449, 8449. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-63038-5 [2024] Other Outputs: Yellow Fever Virus Structure and Antigenicity. Bibby, Summa (2024). Yellow Fever Virus Structure and Antigenicity. PhD Thesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular B