Penn Dental Medicine Adds to Research Enterprise with Henry Daniell, PhD
Henry Daniell, PhD
Philadelphia – Adding to the depth of its research enterprise, Penn Dental Medicine announces the appointment of Henry Daniell, PhD, as Professor in the departments of Biochemistry and Pathology.
A highly respected researcher across disciplines, Daniell’s lab focuses on the development of a novel concept to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Daniell has developed a system to produce biopharmaceuticals in a protective coating so that they can be delivered by mouth without being destroyed by the stomach. This new platform reduces cost by eliminating prohibitively expensive fermentation, purification, cold storage/transportation and sterile injections currently used in the production and delivery of biopharmaceuticals. Some of his ongoing projects include the development of edible vaccines for polio, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, and bioterrorism agents (anthrax, plague, etc.).
Daniell uses his oral delivery concept to address several autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes or adverse immunological reactions in the treatment of hemophilia. He also uses therapeutic protein delivery to degrade plaques in advanced Alzheimer’s brains or regulate blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes. His widely translational work, which has important applications to mucosal immunity – a topic of considerable importance in dental research – has led to the award of more than 50 patents.
“Dr. Daniell brings a passion for science and teaching that will significantly advance the educational and research missions of the School,” says Dr. Denis Kinane, Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine.
Daniell joined University of Central Florida (UCF) in 1998 as Professor of Molecular Biology, and since 2002, he has been a Pegasus Professor, a prestigious UCF title that recognizes outstanding accomplishments in teaching, research, and service. In 2002, he also was named Chair of the UCF Board of Trustees, and since 2008, Daniell has been a Professor of Medicine at UCF. Daniell was inducted as a foreign member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences as the 14th American; Ben Franklin was the first American honored in 1786. Daniell is also a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science. Among many awards, he was the recipient of the UCF Research Incentive Award for outstanding research contributions (2002-2012); the Bayer Hemophilia Award, Buenos Aires, one of five global awards for outstanding hemophilia research (2010); and the American Diabetes Association Award for outstanding contributions in diabetes research (2008). During his tenure at UCF, he also introduced the Professional Science Master’s program and B.S. in Biotechnology.
Throughout his career, Daniell has served on numerous panels within the US National Academy of Science; the NIH, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and the NIH, Center for Scientific Review. He leads an accomplished research program, supported by the NIH and the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and Bayer.