Annalee Nguyen

Department Research Areas: 

Research Website

Educational Qualifications

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara (2006)
B.S., Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (2000)

Focus

Development and optimization of potent and tolerable protein therapeutics

Research

While therapeutic advances over the last century can dramatically extend life after terrible diagnoses, even the most modern disease treatments may have brutal and painful side effects. Physicians have been moving toward a “whole patient” focus that places a high value on quality-of-life during treatment, but this effort is limited by the available therapies for many diseases. Building on a background in protein engineering, I am interested in harnessing proteins to localize and function on and in cells and tissues of interest. I focus on the development of antibody-based therapies for infectious disease and cancer that potently prevent or treat disease with minimal adverse events. Specific ongoing projects include reducing on-target off-tumor side effects of anti-cancer antibodies by leveraging the relative acidity of the tumor microenvironment and precision control of bispecific antibody binding. By engineering selectivity into antibodies, we aim to reduce side effects that interrupt treatment and impact patient quality-of-life. I am also the Director of the CPRIT-funded Advanced Protein Therapeutics core facility focusing on developing therapies for pancreatic, brain, breast, and other cancers.

PUBLICATIONS

Affiliations

• Director, Advanced Protein Therapeutics Core