Research Focus

Biotechnology, protein therapeutics, vaccine development, applied immunology and microbiology.

Research Interests

We develop protein therapeutics and vaccines to address unmet medical needs in infectious diseases. These proteins aim to directly interfere in disease progression or augment essential immune system activities. To do this, we design a candidate protein, with an emphasis on engineering the kinetics with which it interacts with other proteins as well as targeting protein transport to specific tissues in the body. This is followed by protein expression and purification to make the protein; biophysical, biochemical and cellular analyses to elucidate the molecular basis of activity; and, ultimately, in vitro and in vivo experiments to evaluate the protein’s ability to prevent disease.

Our specific research goals are to:

• Understand mechanisms of protective immunity and use this information to engineer more effective vaccines and therapeutics.
• Reverse engineer pathogenic strategies used by bacterial pathogens for biomedical and biotechnological applications.
• Control cellular immunity through manipulation of T cell receptor-peptide MHC interactions.
• Apply protein engineering approaches to issues in structural biology.

Awards & Honors

• National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Senior Member, 2023
• Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, 2017
• Inaugural University of Texas “Emerging Inventor of the Year” Award, 2015
• Bill & Melinda Gates Grand Challenge Awards, 2009, 2016
• Texas Exes Teaching Award for the Cockrell School of Engineering, 2012
• Most Outstanding Professor in Chemical Engineering, Student Engineering Council, 2010
• Packard Fellowship, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2005
• Dreyfus New Faculty Award, 2003
• National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Heatlh (NIH), 2002-2004