Lisa Brannon-Peppas
PeppChem Consulting, USA
2020

Dr. Lisa Brannon-Peppas is a biomedical and drug delivery consultant. She has made leading contributions in nanoparticle research, biomaterials, controlled drug delivery, and structure-property relationships of biomaterials, including her pioneering contributions to the theory of biomaterials swelling. Her research efforts have focused primarily on targeted drug delivery to the vascular system and breast cancer cells and have been funded by grants from NIH, NSF, AHA, and other organizations. One of her papers was named one of the 25 most significant papers in the history of the journal Biomaterials. Her work includes nanodelivery technology for cancer treatment based on her development of PLA-PGA nanoparticles tethered with PEG chains that can be targeted to tumors and imaging for the detection of pancreatic cancer through photoacoustic ultrasound, which may enable far earlier detection of the disease and improve survival rates.

She was Founder and President of Biogel Technology, Inc., a privately held company that specialized in R&D of systems for chemotherapeutic drug delivery, which she founded in 1991 and sold in 2002. From 2003-08, she was a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas, Austin, followed by Vice President of Mimetic Solutions, and Appian Laboratories in Austin, Texas. She has been the President of PeppChem Consulting since 2010.

She has been elected Fellow of numerous societies including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in 2016; the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 1998; the Biomaterials Science & Engineering in 2008; and the Controlled Release Society in 2013. She received the Lawrence B. Evans Award in Chemical Engineering Practice from AIChE in 2008, which is the highest industrial AIChE recognition, and she was the first and only woman recognized with this award. In 2019, she was listed in the “Drug Maker 100 Power List”, the highest such recognition in her field. Dr. Brannon-Peppas has served on numerous federal boards. She has been extremely active in professional societies such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), serving on the Board for 3 years, and was the youngest elected Board member in the history of AIChE.