As Ohio State continues to expand its role in the commercialization of research, it is important to create an environment that facilitates and rewards research creativity and entrepreneurship. To support and stimulate entrepreneurial activity among Ohio State researchers, three university-wide innovator awards are presented as part of the Research and Innovation Showcase hosted by the Office of Research and Corporate Engagement Office. Join us in congratulating our 2021 Innovator of the Year.
Peixuan Guo, PhD
Peixuan 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. His research focuses on the application of RNA nanotechnology for cancer therapy. Gou’s research led to several discoveries, including the RNA rubbery property that leads to efficient cancer targeting and fast renal clearance, leading to therapeutics without toxicity; the method for the therapy of lung cancer; invention of novel methods for liver Cancer Therapy and invention of a simple and fast in-home method for earlier diagnosing of COVID-19 infection. He has received 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 Chairman 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. 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.
The Innovator of the Year award recognizes 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.