La Conner alum researches COVID-19, HIV

If science requires solving complex problems one step at a time, a La Conner alumnus is among those setting the pace when it comes to the vital on-going study of viruses, stem cells and gene therapy.

Nick Llewellyn, a 1998 high school graduate, is a member of the research team at the acclaimed Paula Cannon Lab at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he has been engaged in critical studies involving both HIV and COVID-19.

“My work over the past year,” Llewellyn told the Weekly News Sept. 18, “has been about evenly split between my HIV project, studying how HIV affects the brain, and the COVID-19 project in which we have assigned a virus entry inhibitor to block COVID-19 spread in the body and destroy infected cells.

“This,” he said, “will hopefully be used as a potential therapeutic for people infected with the virus. It seems to be working exceptionally well so far, even against several variants, including delta. We hope to be submitting a paper on this soon, so that has been incredibly fulfilling.”

Llewellyn has spent the better part of 20 years in the research field, having joined as an undergrad student an HIV lab at the University of Washington run by microbiologist Dr. James Mullins.

“I spent nearly 40 hours a week in the lab,” Llewellyn recalled. “I was just hooked on science.”

He had earlier caught the science bug while a student in high school, inspired by biology teacher Ralph Dalseg and math instructor Steve Crawford.

“They were both amazingly good teachers,” said Llewellyn. “They were patient and willing to explain anything I would ask them. They had great senses of humor, too. We had a lot of other great teachers as well, but those two stand out to me still.”

Though quiet by nature as a teen, Llewellyn was willing on occasion to stand out in the crowd. For example, he and classmate Jaime Reynolds started a golf team, ultimately qualifying for the state tournament. Llewellyn also petitioned to play tennis at nearby Anacortes since La Conner did not offer the sport. He ended up being the team’s No. 2 singles player.

“I had a lot of fun,” he said. “I still play quite a bit of tennis, actually, but not as much golf. It’s way too expensive in California.

“Most of my good memories (of high school) are probably playing sports,” Llewellyn added. “I may have been a short skinny kid, but I lettered in soccer, track, golf and tennis.”

Llewellyn said it was at the University of Washington where he truly came into his own.

“I was very shy and pretty introverted through high school,” he said. “College is where I finally broke out of my shell. I made a lot more friends and had a lot of new experiences. It also cemented my love of science. I majored in biochemistry, so I took a lot of math, chemistry and biology classes and they were all great.”

From the UW, he pursued graduate studies at the University of Michigan, where his mentor was microbiology and immunology professor Dr. Akira Ono.

“He was patient and kind and one of the smartest most hardworking scientists I’ve ever known,” Llewellyn said. “I did very well in graduate school in large part because of him and I could not be more grateful.”

For the last nine years, Llewellyn has been at USC, conducting research at the Cannon Lab.

“I was very interested in the HIV work being done in Paula Cannon’s lab, using gene editing technology to modify hematopoietic stem cells to be resistant to HIV infection,” said Llewellyn.

“I felt this was a very feasible avenue towards a functional cure of HIV and wanted to join this lab because of the focus on clinical research.

“So,” he explained, “I called Dr. Cannon and asked if she had any positions available and I was fortunate enough that she did and after some discussions she offered me a postdoc position in the lab. It has been my honor to work here for these years as Paula is one of the great scientists of our time. I have learned far more from her than I ever dreamed possible.”

Growing up in La Conner, encouraged by his parents, George Llewellyn and Dr. Nancy Llewellyn, a specialist in internal medicine, provided the perfect springboard for the younger Llewellyn to embark on what has been a remarkable career path.

“My mom,” he said, “is an absolute inspiration, working to become a doctor several years after my sister Robin and I were born. She made it through medical school when I was eight-years-old and even had another child, my brother Marc, during that time.

“Then she went through residency out in Spokane,” Llewellyn noted, “and then back here where she became a partner at Island Hospital and even opened her own clinic in La Conner.”

He describes his dad as “our own personal MacGyver,” possessing an ability to think outside the box has helped shape Llewellyn’s approach as a scientist.

“He’s an amazing man,” Llewellyn said. “No one is more crafty or inventive or able to solve problems like he does. He thinks differently than anyone I know, but that’s why he can fix almost anything with some of the most creative solutions.”

Despite his busy schedule, Llewellyn blocks out time for trips home.

“I come back here a couple times a year to visit family and am always glad to be here,” he said. “I love the atmosphere, the restaurants and closeness to nature. There’s the ocean and forests and all the great places to catch fish or go on a hike.”

Looking ahead, one of Llewellyn’s goals is to become an assistant professor at the Cannon Lab and then secure a tenure track position at USC or elsewhere.

“But I’m always open to other career opportunities,” he said.

What is certain is that Llewellyn’s decisions will be driven by science.

“My life now is in Los Angeles because that’s where the science happens,” he said, “but my heart will always be here in La Conner.”