Researchers Named National Academy of Inventors Senior Members

Three Washington University scientists who also are research members of Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

They are:

• Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Developmental Biology at the School of Medicine
• John DiPersio, MD, PhD, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Endowed Professor of Medicine, Pathology and Immunology; a professor of pediatrics; and director of the Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy, also at the School of Medicine
• Srikanth Singamaneni, PhD, the Lilyan & E. Lisle Hughes Professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering

They are among the 162 new senior members who will be inducted at the NAI’s annual conference in June.

Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD

DiAntonio is being recognized for outstanding contributions to the field of neuroscience, especially for showing how nerves respond to injury and disease and for developing ways to protect them from degeneration.

After injury and in some diseases, axons — the long fibers of nerve cells throughout the body — spark a self-destruct mechanism that disrupts communication in the nervous system. This is common to many neuronal injuries and diseases, revealing potential for a treatment for multiple disorders.

Working with WashU’s Office of Technology Management (OTM), DiAntonio co-founded Disarm Therapeutics, a startup developing medicines to stop the loss of axons and to prevent or treat a range of diseases, which has been acquired by Eli Lilly.

John DiPersio, MD, PhD

DiPersio, who treats patients at Siteman, is being recognized for outstanding contributions to understanding blood cancers and for development of new ways to improve therapies for such cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma.

His work focuses on improving stem cell transplantation and developing novel cell-based immunotherapies. Working with the Office of Technology Management, he co-founded Wugen, a WashU startup creating investigational cellular immunotherapies. He developed so-called “universal” CAR-T cell therapies, which don’t require the donor and recipient to have matching immune systems.

DiPersio is developing small-molecule drugs to help collect more healthy stem cells from donors more easily, increasing the chances for successful transplants.

Srikanth Singamaneni, PhD

Singamaneni is an international pioneer in the design, synthesis and biomedical applications of plasmonic nanostructures.

His research integrates nanotechnology and biomaterials to create innovative products with applications from diagnostics to wastewater treatment.

His lab has pioneered the design and synthesis of ultrabright fluorescence nanolabels and devised methods to preserve biomolecules under harsh conditions. He holds numerous U.S. patents and licenses the core plasmonic fluors technology to Auragent Bioscience, where he is co-founder and chief scientific officer.