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Pieter R. Cullis

Pieter R. Cullis

Director, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia;
Co-Chair, Personalized Medicine Initiative;
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Director, NanoMedicines Research Group, UBC.
University of British Columbia
Canada

Biography

Pieter R. Cullis, Ph.D. Director, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia; Co-Chair, Personalized Medicine Initiative; Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Director, NanoMedicines Research Group, UBC. Dr. Cullis and co-workers have been responsible for fundamental advances in the generation, loading and targeting of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) systems for intravenous delivery of small molecule drugs and macromolecular drugs such as small interfering RNA (siRNA). This work has contributed to three LNP products that have been approved by regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe for the treatment of cancer and its complications and five more that have finished Phase I clinical studies. Dr. Cullis co-founded Lipex Biomembranes Inc., Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, Northern Lipids Inc., and, most recently, Acuitas Therapeutics and Precision NanoSystems. In addition, he co-founded and was Scientific Director of the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) 2004-2010. He has published over 300 scientific articles and is an inventor on over 40 patents. Dr. Cullis has received many awards, including the B.C. Science Council Gold Medal for Health Sciences in 1991, the Alec D. Bangham Award for contributions to liposome science and technology in 2000 and the B.C. Biotechnology Association award for Innovation and Achievement in 2002. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2004, received the Leadership Award of the Canadian Society of Pharmaceutical Scientists in 2010 and was awarded the Prix Galien, Canada’s premier prize for achievements in pharmaceutical R&D, in 2011.

Research Interest

Roles of lipids in biological membranes and the use of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) systems to deliver conventional and genetic drugs. Research interests in LNP systems can be divided into three parts: The delivery of small molecule drugs, particularly those used in cancer chemotherapy, with the aim of increasing efficacy and reducing toxicity. The delivery of LNP encapsulated immunostimulatory oligonucleotides to cells of the immune system, as an adjuvant for the immunotherapy of infectious and malignant disease. The design of LNP systems capable of effectively delivering macromolecules such as nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) to target cells in vivo following systemic administration.