Charles Daniel Murin, Ph.D.

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Research Focus

Daniel is an Assistant Professor at the San Diego Biomedical Research Institute and holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position at Scripps Research in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. Daniel began his research career at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS studying microbiology and biochemistry, later becoming a technician at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Daniel received his Ph.D. in 2016 from The Scripps Research Institute and his continued his postdoctoral studies at Scripps in Dr. Andrew Ward’s lab where he used single particle cryo-EM to study the antibody-based immune response to HIV and filoviral infection.

The Murin lab focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of the antibody-based cellular response, chiefly by Natural Killer (NK) cells, to viral infection by detailing mechanisms of how antibodies recruit effector cells and coordinate specific effector functions such as antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The lab aims to define molecular principles that guide how antibodies mediate and tune cellular cytotoxicity through antibody receptors on the surface of white blood cells. The Murin Lab primarily utilizes fluorescent microscopy techniques, including super-resolution MINFLUX nanoscopy, to examine how antibody phenotypes influence NK cell immune synapse dynamics and signaling at the single molecule level and then correlate these observations with cellular activity.

Fluorescent microscopy studies are being complemented by structural biology and small molecule screening projects to gain a broader perspective of the signaling proteins and genes that are involved in cellular cytotoxicity. By integrating these multidisciplinary approaches across molecular scales, the Murin lab hopes to establish new paradigms that inform the design of antibody, cellular, and small molecule therapeutics with specific and potent in vivo activities impacting infectious diseases, autoimmunity, and cancer.

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Education

Ph.D. in Biophysics, The Scripps Research Institute, 2016
B.S. in Biochemistry, The University of Southern Mississippi, 2008

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Professional Experience

2023 – Present, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Scripps Research
2023 – Present, Assistant Professor, San Diego Biomedical Research Institute
2021 – 2023 Principal Investigator, Scripps Research
2021 – 2023 Senior Staff Scientist, Scripps Research
2021 Staff Scientist, Scripps Research
2016 – 2020 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Scripps Research

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Honors and Awards

2021 Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Award, NIH/NIAID
2015 Viruses Graduate Student Travel Award, Viruses Journal
2015 Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation Fellow, TSRI
2014 Outstanding Oral Presentation, Immunology Research Forum, TSRI
2013 National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellow, TSRI
2004 Presidential Scholar/Honors College, Full Tuition, The University of Southern Mississippi

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Professional Activities

2022 – Present Member, Diversity and Science Lecture Series, UCSD, La Jolla, CA
2022 – Present Member, Queer Society of Science, UCSD, La Jolla, CA
2021 – Present Member, Biophysical Society
2021 – Present Reviewer, NIAID Scientific Review Program
2020 – 2023 Committee Member, Scripps Research Diversity Advisory Committee
2020 – 2021 Guest Associate Editor, Frontiers in Immunology: Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics
2019 – 2023 Founder/Committee Chair, Scripps Research Young Scientist Award
2018 Founder, Postdocs of Torrey Pines Mesa, La Jolla, CA
2017 – Present Member, American Society for Cell Biology
2017-2018 President, Society of Fellows, TSRI
2016-2017 Board Member, Society of Fellows, TSRI
2011 – Present Judge/Head Judge, San Diego Regional Science Fairs
2011-2013 Member, Network for Women in Science, TSRI
2011-2016 Member, Queer Engineers, Scientists, and Technical Professionals, San Diego