Kim Erickson is Head of Operations at VitriVax. She is a molecular virologist with over 25 years of working at the bench, of which 16 years were spent with Bob Garcea, one of the founders of VitriVax. Kim was the lab coordinator of the Garcea laboratory at the University of Colorado, where she was responsible for the administrative and scientific aspects of Dr. Garcea’s NIH and Gates Foundation-funded research. Her bench experience includes the viral genetics of large and small DNA tumor viruses, as well as electron tomography of virus-infected cells. Kim’s scientific and managerial expertise in the Garcea laboratory provided her with a solid foundation to join VitriVax in 2019 and establish the basic infrastructure during its early days. In her current role, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the company and the programmatic aspects of partner projects at VitriVax. Kim serves as the principal investigator on VitriVax’s $28M DTRA government contract and continues to play a key role in building trust while engaging with external research and business partners. Kim earned her BS in both Chemistry and Biology from Baker University and her PhD in Molecular Virology from Purdue University.