Nadine Alvarez, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Member, Infectious Diseases
Center for Discovery and Innovation
Dr. Alvarez is a biologist with a broad background in molecular biology and drug discovery related to bacterial and viral infectious diseases. She earned her Ph.D. in Health Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Armando Acosta and Dr. Maria E. Sarmiento at the Finlay Institute of Vaccines, affiliated with Havana University, Cuba. Dr. Alvarez pursued postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Dr. Veronique Dartois and Dr. Thomas Dick at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) of Rutgers University and later at the Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), where she specialized in the characterization of novel inhibitors targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Alvarez joined the lab of Dr. David S. Perlin as a Senior Research Associate, leading a project related to advancing broad-spectrum antivirals against coronaviruses within the Metropolitan AntiViral Drug Accelerator (MAVDA) program.
Current Research
Dr. Alvarez leads the in vitro research arm of a new Center of Excellence for Translational Research (CETR) antibacterial project, focused on developing a novel class of antibiotics with a dual mechanism of action against Neisseria gonorrhoeae, aimed at overcoming rising antimicrobial resistance. In parallel, she is working on the development of a new antiviral therapy for Mpox (monkeypox) infection, and applying cutting-edge systems based on human airway epithelial cell models at the air-liquid interface (ALI) to advance translational research in respiratory infections.
Lab Members
Risha Rasheed
Research Associate
Kira Goldgirsh
Sr Research Tech, JTCC
Fnu Wasifa
Sr Research Specialist
List of publications
1) 2025_Genetic and Immunological Profiling of Recent SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants: Insights
into Immune Evasion and Infectivity in Monoinfections and Coinfections. Viruses,
https://doi.org/10.3390/v17070918.
2) 2025_Small-molecule inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 guanine-N7 RNA cap methyltransferase. Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08320-0.
3) 2024_Novel Pan-Coronavirus 3CL Protease Inhibitor MK-7845: Biological and Pharmacological Profiling. Viruses, https://doi.org/10.3390/v16071158
4) 2024_Invention of MK-7845, a SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibitor Employing a Novel Difluorinated Glutamine Mimic. J Med Chem, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c02248
5) 2024_In Vivo Antiviral Efficacy of LCTG-002, a Pooled, Purified Human Milk Secretory IgA product, Against SARS-CoV-2 in a Murine Model of COVID-19. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2303226