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May 1, 2026
Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar Series
(Drug DELIVERY Specific Seminar)
- Peter Tessier, PhD
- Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Biointerfaces Institute
(University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
Next-Generation Antibody Brain Shuttles for Efficient CNS Drug Delivery
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) severely limits the delivery of therapeutic biologics to the CNS. Our laboratory engineers bispecific antibody brain shuttles targeting either transferrin receptor (TfR1) or CD98hc to enable efficient receptor-mediated transport across the BBB following systemic administration. We have defined key mechanistic differences between these pathways, including distinct uptake kinetics and CNS retention profiles, and have developed approaches to greatly extend shuttle half-life in the CNS. These mechanistic advances enable multiple therapeutic applications, including delivery of antibody agonists and antagonists to neuronal and glial targets, CNS-selective immunocytokines that expand regulatory T cells and suppress neuroinflammation without systemic immune activation, and antisense oligonucleotide-shuttle conjugates that achieve durable gene silencing after peripheral dosing. Together, this work establishes engineering principles for BBB transport, CNS pharmacokinetics, and tissue-selective retention that provide a translational framework for converting diverse biologic modalities into systemically administered CNS therapeutics.
About the Speaker:
Peter Tessier is the Albert M. Mattocks (Endowed) Professor in the Departments of Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering, and a member of the Biointerfaces Institute and Chemical Biology Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware (2003, NASA Graduate Fellow) and performed his postdoctoral studies at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT (2003-2007, American Cancer Society Fellow). Tessier started his independent career as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2007, and he was an endowed full professor at Rensselaer prior to moving to the University of Michigan in 2017. His research focuses on therapeutic antibody engineering and brain drug delivery using novel experimental and computational methods with the long-term goal of improving the treatment of human disorders ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. He has received several awards and fellowships in recognition of his pioneering work: Pew Scholar Award in Biomedical Sciences (2010-2014), Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers (2014-2015), Young Scientist Award from the World Economic Forum (2014), Young Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society (2015) and a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (2010-2015).
Hosted by Glen Kwon