Meet Gladstone: Jason Nomburg

Jason Nomburg, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Jennifer Doudna. He completed his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara, where he worked in the lab of Zach Ma studying the measles virus. Nomburg then went on to receive his doctoral degree in virology from Harvard University, where he studied the tumor microbiome and viral transcriptomes.

Earlier this year, Nomburg received the Distinguished Achievement in Science Award in virology from Gladstone Institutes for his work uncovering an ancient immune-evading strategy shared by animal viruses and viruses that infect bacteria. His findings could help in the development of new antiviral therapies.

What brought you to Gladstone?

I was really interested in virology and structural biology, so Gladstone seemed like a great fit. The Gladstone Institute of Virology is full of awesome virology research, and has been a great place to do science.

What do you like about Gladstone?

Gladstone is quite supportive of their trainees, both scientifically and financially. It also has an awesome scientific community and has been a fantastic place to do science. This is driven by a series of things, including the highly collaborative nature of research at Gladstone and the numerous opportunities we have to learn about the other awesome science happening in the institute.

Who has been the biggest influence in your scientific career?

Probably my graduate school supervisors, James DeCaprio and Matthew Meyerson, both of whom are professors at Harvard Medical School and have labs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It was in their labs that I was first able to explore using computational methods to study biology, and they showed me how fun it is to do science. But things go beyond that, and they really made a mark in showing me how to support mentees and how to ask meaningful scientific questions.

What are the key areas of research you’re focused on?

I’m really interested in how viruses can overcome the innate immune system, which is the immune system built into every cell in our body. Viruses encode proteins to help them do this, but sometimes it’s really hard to figure out how they work. I’ve used new tools to help us predict the three dimensional shape of viral proteins, which helps us understand what they do.

How does your research contribute to understanding or treating diseases?

It’s only when we understand how viruses subvert human immunity that we can start making countermeasures! Hopefully my findings will enable us in the future to understand both the basic biology of some of these viruses, as well as potential therapeutic targets.

How do you collaborate with other researchers, both within Gladstone and externally?

My lab was a part of the AViDD program that brought together researchers across Gladstone, UC San Francisco (UCSF), and the US. The goal of this program was to develop antivirals targeting important pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID).

In 2025, Nomburg received the Distinguished Achievement in Science Award in virology from Gladstone Institutes.

This was an amazing collaborative effort that has brought together expertise from throughout Gladstone and the greater UCSF community. We contributed by using our SARS-CoV-2 virus-like-particle system to help identify small-molecule inhibitors of viral assembly.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy books, play tennis and board games, and socialize with friends. I really enjoy spending nice days walking around Golden Gate Park.

What advice would you give to young scientists or students interested in your field?

Don’t be scared to learn computational skills if you’re interested in them! It’s never too late to learn.