
NU Chemistry Impact

Gianneschi Group Research
Harnessing the power of materials chemistry to pioneer smart drug technologies, the Gianneschi Group aims to transform and heal diseases once thought untreatable and incurable
Heart disease is the largest cause of death in the world representing a significant clinical area of unmet need. In the images above, the data show that Keap1i-PLP is an effective therapeutic helping the heart heal after heart attack. Images of the heart show in blue, the scar tissue forming after a heart attack. Therapeutic intervention reverses this and leads to a healing response instead of an inflammatory one. The Protein-Like Polymer (PLP) technology is the first of its kind, developed at Northwestern. Here, we use precision polymer science to mimic naturally occurring proteins for engaging cellular machinery, hence establishing a new drug discovery, design and development paradigm.
SOCIETAL IMPACT
Despite incredible advances in medicine, people are diagnosed with incurable diseases every day. In some cases, we know the exact cause of the disease and yet cannot intervene. In many ways, we live in an incredibly exciting time, with a tremendous wealth of knowledge related to how our bodies function. This gives us an unprecedented opportunity to develop new therapies. The challenge is that our current ways of tackling these diseases have not worked. To overcome that challenge, we need new types of chemistry. By wielding advanced chemical science tools, we can begin to develop entirely new kinds of therapeutics and indeed, new ways to discover and design them. Our particular focus is on mimicking natural biological molecules with precision materials chemistry, designed and made in the laboratory. These new types of materials have tremendous promise against today’s incurable diseases.
Real World Applications
The Science Behind the Application


Grove Biopharma launches to develop therapeutic protein-like polymers
Additional Therapeutic Breakthroughs
'Super melanin' heals skin injuries from sunburn, chemical burns