Pieter Cullis

Pieter Cullis is the founding father of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for nucleic acid delivery, whose decades of work made mRNA therapeutics and cancer vaccines feasible. His laboratory developed the ionizable lipid concept and optimized LNP formulations for hepatic and extrahepatic mRNA delivery. His LNP platforms are used in all major clinical mRNA cancer vaccine programs to protect mRNA from degradation and enable cellular uptake. His ongoing research focuses on LNP optimization for tumor targeting and lymph node delivery relevant to cancer vaccines.