Autoimmunity BioSolutions Co-Founder Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco Inducted into the National Academy of Sciences

The Recognition Honors His Scientific Leadership and Foundational Discoveries Driving a New Precision Approach to Autoimmune Disease Treatment

HOUSTON, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Autoimmunity BioSolutions (ABS), a biotechnology company developing a personalized, genetically-guided immuno-corrective therapy designed to normalize elevated levels of soluble IL7 receptor (sIL7R), today announced the induction of company co-founder Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). This is one of the most prestigious scientific honors in the United States, and Dr. Garcia-Blanco's induction reflects a career of exceptional scientific rigor and lasting impact.

A Lifetime of Scientific Contribution

Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, MD, PhD, is the F. Palmer Weber Medical Research Professor and Chair of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology at the University of Virginia and an internationally recognized leader in RNA biology and RNA virology. He launched his independent scientific career in 1990 as Assistant Professor at Duke University, where he ultimately held the Charles D. Watts Professorship of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and founded the Duke Center for RNA Biology.

Dr. Garcia-Blanco is also a serial entrepreneur who believes that fundamental academic science should lead to tangible social impact. He has co-founded five companies, including Autoimmunity BioSolutions and Circurna (formerly EmerVax), and serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of BTB Therapeutics (Kyoto) and Ascidian Therapeutics (Boston). His scientific research formed the foundation of ABS's platform targeting sIL7R, a biologic pathway linked to autoimmune disease severity and poor treatment response.

"Mariano's election to the National Academy of Sciences reflects the extraordinary quality and impact of his scientific legacy," said Eugene Williams, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of ABS. "For patients, however, his most important contribution may still lie ahead through the translational science now advancing at ABS, which could transform autoimmune disease care."

"For too long, autoimmune diseases have been treated with broad immunosuppression rather than addressing underlying, patient-specific biology," said Dr. Garcia-Blanco. "By identifying patients in whom the sIL7R pathway is driving greater disease severity and poor treatment response, we have an opportunity to significantly improve patient outcomes."

The Scientific Insight That Drives ABS Could Transform Autoimmune Disease Care

ABS's platform is built on a foundational discovery by the company co-founders Dr. Garcia-Blanco and Dr. Gaddiel Galarza-Munoz: a highly prevalent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), present in approximately 50% of the population, drives a twofold to threefold increase in soluble IL7 receptor (sIL7R) expression. Elevated sIL7R has been consistently linked to increased disease severity, faster progression, and poor response to standard therapies across multiple autoimmune conditions.

This biology is directly tied to clinical outcomes. In a study of rheumatoid arthritis patients initiating new therapy, elevated sIL7R strongly correlated with non-response to infliximab, with a threefold difference in treatment response.

ABS is addressing a significant unmet need in autoimmune disease — refractory patients who do not respond well to standards of care (SOCs). In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, approximately 50% of patients show inadequate response to current standards of care, and it is likely that in many cases elevated sIL7R drives this resistance mechanism. This mechanism of resistance may play a role in poor response to SOCs in multiple autoimmune diseases. By selectively targeting and normalizing sIL7R in the genetically defined refractory patients with elevated sIL7R, ABS's immuno-corrective approach could significantly improve response to standards of care.

About Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, MD, PhD

Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, MD, PhD, is the F. Palmer Weber Medical Research Professor and Chair of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology at the University of Virginia, and Scientific Co-Founder of Autoimmunity BioSolutions. He launched his independent scientific career in 1990 as Assistant Professor at Duke University, where he ultimately held the Charles D. Watts Professorship of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, founded the Duke Center for RNA Biology, and was a principal in the establishment of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Program at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. He subsequently served as the Vacek Distinguished Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) before joining the University of Virginia in 2023.

A leader in RNA biology and virology, he has authored more than 200 publications with continuous NIH funding since 1991. He has mentored dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom now lead prominent research programs in the United States and internationally. He is a member of the Association of American Physicians (2011), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2022), and the National Academy of Sciences (2025), and a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2011) and the American Academy of Microbiology (2013). He has co-founded five life sciences companies and is an advocate for diversity in science.

About Autoimmunity BioSolutions (ABS)

Autoimmunity BioSolutions (ABS) is pioneering a personalized, genetically guided immuno-corrective therapy designed to normalize or "correct" elevated levels of soluble IL7 receptor (sIL7R), a fundamental driver of poor therapeutic response in autoimmune disease. This therapy targets a genetically defined subpopulation of autoimmune disease patients marked by a highly prevalent genetic variant (SNP) that elevates the expression of sIL7R and is associated with greater severity of disease, increased progression of disease, and poor response to current treatments. This immuno-corrective approach of targeting sIL7R in a genetic population is highly differentiated from current standards of care that rely on immunosuppressive mechanisms and has broad potential to enhance response to standards of care in the refractory population with elevated sIL7R across numerous autoimmune diseases. For more information, visit www.abstherapeutics.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

For investor inquiries, please contact:

Jen Beachell
Chief Business Officer
[email protected] 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Madelyn De Los Santos
Putnam Insights
[email protected]

SOURCE Autoimmunity BioSolutions