Nicola La Monica

Dr. La Monica joined the J&J Boston Innovation Center in 2013 as Senior Director of ID and Vaccines Scientific Innovation. From 2009 to 2012 he was at Idera Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge MA, where he was VP of Biology. From 1991 to 2009, Dr. La Monica served most recently as Director of Antivirals at IRBM, Rome, Italy, a research site of Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to that, he held the positions of Director of Oncology and Director of Cancer Immunology. Dr. La Monica has managed research teams involved in anti-HCV research, cancer vaccines or cancer immunotherapy. He has been responsible for the evaluation of novel oligonucleotide-based compounds targeting TLRs as vaccine adjuvants or as therapeutic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Dr. La Monica earned his B.A. in Biology from the University of Rochester in 1982 and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Columbia University in 1988.