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Dr. Rebecca Sheets

Rebecca Sheets serves as the Vaccine Scientific and Regulatory Specialist in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. In this role, she formulates regulatory strategy for the Division of AIDS and the Vaccine Research Center for the pre-clinical development of research concepts into HIV vaccine candidates suitable for human clinical trials. Her background in virology, and specifically, retrovirology, serves to address HIV vaccine development and adventitious agent testing in vaccines.

Rebecca Sheets obtained her B.S. degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology; M.S. degree in Cellular, Viral, and Molecular Biology from the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Southern California School of Medicine. During 12 years of laboratory experience, she performed research on several medically important and other viruses, including poliovirus, adenovirus, Yellow Fever Virus, and retroviruses (specifically, Murine Leukemia Viruses and Feline Leukemia Viruses). Her Ph.D. thesis examined the pathogenic mechanisms leading to feline lymphoma by Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), with the objective of providing a targeted approach to development of a more efficacious FeLV vaccine.

Prior to obtaining her Ph.D., Rebecca Sheets also worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a Clinical Research Associate. Her responsibilities were in the development, monitoring, and data auditing of clinical trials for cancer adjunct therapy with a biological cytokine.

Dr. Sheets served for 9 years as a Scientific Reviewer in the Viral Vaccines Branch of the Division of Vaccines and Related Products Applications, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, CBER/FDA. She came to FDA in 1993 and brought her technical expertise and communication, organizational, and leadership skills to this position. In 1994, to foster her commitment to public health, she became a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (Scientist Category), in which she has been promoted to the rank of Commander (CDR). In 1998, she served as acting Branch Chief responsible for supervision of the review of Investigational New Drug Applications (INDs) for viral vaccines. In 2000, she served as acting Microbiology Team Leader in the Division of Anti-Viral Drug Products in the Center for Drugs (CDER)/FDA. Her review and evaluation responsibilities at CBER included the review and evaluation of INDs and Product/Biological License Applications for candidate vaccines to prevent or treat Human Immunodeficiency Virus, rotaviruses, adenoviruses, polioviruses, parainfluenza viruses, Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2, Cytomegalovirus, and influenza viruses. She also evaluated two PMAs for HIV-1 viral load test kits. In addition, she was involved in several policy working groups on HIV vaccines, HIV/AIDS immunotherapeutics, vaccine cell substrates, retrovirus testing, and the joint working group between OVRR and the Division of AIDS at NIAID for HIV vaccine development.