Wayne State alumnus Jason McLellan named MacArthur Fellow for leadership in vaccine development

Jason McLellan '03, has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. McLellan, who earned a bachelor's in chemistry with an emphasis in biochemistry from Wayne State University, is a structural biologist whose groundbreaking research on viral proteins has transformed vaccine development and protected the health of millions of people around the world.

The highly prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, often called the "genius grant," recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary creativity, significant accomplishments and the potential for future breakthroughs in their fields. Each year, just a few dozen leaders across the arts, sciences, humanities and social fields are selected as fellows, who receive an $800,000 unrestricted award to support their ongoing work.

"Dr. McLellan's work exemplifies the impact of scientific innovation and the tremendous, life-saving impact of research," said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Laurie M. Lauzon Clabo. "We are proud but not at all surprised to have a Wayne State graduate recognized with one of the world's most prestigious honors."

McLellan was selected for his pioneering research with engineered viral proteins that laid the foundation for several modern vaccines, including those for COVID-19 and respiratory sync respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). His current work is focused on developing a universal coronavirus vaccine and exploring how structure-based vaccine design can be used to fight bacterial infections.

As a postdoc, McLellan helped design a protein that became the basis for the first successful RSV vaccine. He later applied the same structure-based approach to studying coronaviruses that cause the common cold and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). When the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged in 2020, McLellan's lab quickly developed a stabilized version of its spike protein, which became a critical component in all COVID-19 vaccines.

Today, McLellan is a professor and the Robert A. Welch chair in chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and then carried out postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health's Vaccine Research Center. McLellan's research has been published in Nature, Science, Cell, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of Virology, among other leading journals. He credited his undergraduate experience at Wayne State with instilling the passion and rigor that would define his career.

"Wayne State was a near-perfect experience for me. I received the Presidential Scholarship, which allowed me to attend tuition-free and graduate without student debt. Academically, I was challenged in my classes and enjoyed being part of the Honors program. Scientifically, having access to terrific faculty and research was most important for preparing me for graduate school and my future career," said McLellan. "It was Wayne State where I confirmed that I loved research and needed to attend graduate school to obtain my Ph.D. As my interests evolved, I was able to work with Dr. Ashok Bhagwat during my final year at Wayne State, where I developed a love for biochemistry and protein structure and function."

Earlier this year, McLellan was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and has been previously received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology (2023), the International Vaccine Institute-SK Bioscience Park MahnHoon Award (2024) and the Golden Goose Award (2020) for federally funded research excellence.

For more information about the 2025 MacArthur Fellows, visit https://www.macfound.org/programs/awards/fellows/ .