Two COP faculty recognized in Ohio State Research Showcase
Innovator of the Year
Peixuan Guo, PhD, was named The Ohio State University 2021 Innovator of the Year. Dr. Guo is the Sylvan G. Frank Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Systems in the College of Pharmacy and the director for the Center for RNA Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine. Dr. Guo’s research focuses on the application of RNA nanotechnology for cancer therapy.
The Innovator of the Year Award recognizes established Ohio State researchers who are actively working to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, through invention disclosures filed, patents applied for and/or received, technologies licensed or spin-off companies formed. The award cultivates an entrepreneurial spirit among all of Ohio State’s investigators.
Dr. Guo’s research has led to several discoveries, including the RNA rubbery property that helps to target cancer efficiently, allowing for fast renal clearance and therapeutics without toxicity; the method for the therapy of lung cancer; invention of novel methods for liver cancer therapy; and the invention of a simple and fast in-home method for earlier diagnosing of COVID-19 infection.
Dr. Guo has received numerous awards including the Pfizer Distinguished Faculty Award, Purdue Faculty Scholar Award, Lions Club Cancer Research Award, Distinguished Alumni of the University of Minnesota, and 100 Years Distinguished Chinese Alumni of the University of Minnesota. He is currently the chair of the Board of Directors of ExonanoRNA LLC and has raised more than $4 million of funding for the company to develop RNA nanoparticles for cancer therapy.
Dr. Guo has 230 publications in high-impact journals, including 71 since joining Ohio State in 2016, and has been awarded a total of ten grants since starting at Ohio State. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota.
Early Career Innovator of the Year Finalist
Mark Mitton-Fry, PhD, was a finalist for the Ohio State 2021 Early Career Innovator of the Year Award. Dr. Mitton-Fry is an assistant professor in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy in the College of Pharmacy.
The Early Career Innovator of the Year Award recognizes Ohio State researchers who are early in their career actively working to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, through invention disclosures filed, patents applied for and/or received, technologies licensed or spin-off companies formed.
Dr. Mitton-Fry’s research is dedicated to inventing cures for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. His research group designs and synthesizes novel inhibitors of bacterial topoisomerase enzymes as potential therapies for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
In addition to support from the College of Pharmacy and Ohio State’s Discovery Themes Initiative, his research has been funded by grants from the Dr. Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the NIH. Dr. Mitton-Fry is also co-director of the Antimicrobial Resistance thematic program within Ohio State’s Infectious Diseases Institute. He graduated summa cum laude from Carleton College with a BA in chemistry and received a PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder.