John T. Wilson

Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Co-Leader, Host-Tumor Interactions Program, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Overview:

In the Wilson group we work at the interface of engineering and immunology with the goal of innovating and translating technologies to improve human health. We bring together expertise in immunobiology, molecular engineering, nanotechnology, and pharmaceutical science to develop strategies for more precisely modulating immune responses at the tissue, cell, and subcellular level. The major focus areas of my research program are 1) design and synthesis of novel materials for drug delivery to the immune system; 2) developing new modalities for cancer immunotherapy, including next-generation cancer vaccines, therapeutics for activating anti-tumor innate immunity, and therapeutics for enhancing T cell infiltration and function in cancer; 3) vaccine technology for infectious disease applications, with an emphasis on T cell-directed vaccines for mucosal pathogens; 4) development of nanoparticle and extracellular vesicle therapeutics for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Awards:

-Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
-Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Research Award
-Chancellor Faculty Fellow
-VICC Hancock Scholar
-National Science Foundation CAREER Award
-Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award
-Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Innovation Research Grant Award
-Susan G. Komen Foundation Career Catalyst Research Grant Award
-Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation ‘A’ Award
-2019 Emerging Investigator, Biomaterials Science
-Cellular and Molecular Engineering Young Innovator Award