Ryan Pearson

Ryan M. Pearson, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Headshot of Ryan Pearson

Ryan M. Pearson, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
20 N Pine Street, N525
Baltimore, MD 21201
E-mail: rpearson@rx.umaryland.edu
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To learn more about the Pearson Lab, please visit: www.ryanpearsonlab.com.

Postdoctoral – Accepting applicants
PhD – Currently not recruiting
MS – Accepting applicants

Education

Postdoctoral, Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan

PhD, Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago

BS, Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago

Research Interests

The Pearson Lab for Immunomodulatory Biomaterials is focused on developing strategies for treating dysregulated immune responses such as allergy, inflammation, and cancer through the intersection of two enabling disciplines, nanotechnology and immune engineering.

Current Projects

  1. Polymeric nanoassemblies for precise tuning of immune responses (NIGMS R35GM142752).
  2. Multimodal immunomodulatory strategy to treat inflammation and immunosuppression in sepsis (Shock Society Faculty Research Award).
  3. Immunomodulatory Approaches for Heterotopic Ossification (MIPS and NSF STTR 2136542).
  4. Excipient-free ionizable polyester nanoparticles for mRNA delivery.
  5. Engineering B cell modulating vaccines for T cell cancer immunotherapy.

Publications since 2019 (of >30 publications)

  1. Casey, L.M., Hughes, K.R., Saunders, M.N., Miller, S.D., Pearson, Ryan M.,* and Shea, L.D.,* Mechanistic contributions of Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in nanoparticle-induced antigen-specific immune tolerance. Biomaterials 2022. In Press. * Co-corresponding authors.
  2. Zhang M.H., Scotland B., Jiao, Y., Slaby, E.M., Truong, N., Stephanie, G., Pearson, Ryan M.*, and Szeto, G.L.,* Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles utilize B cells and dendritic cells to elicit distinct antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses. BioRxiv 2022. DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.23.477398. (preprint). *Co-corresponding authors.
  3. Truong, N., Black, S.K., Shaw, J., Scotland, B., Pearson, Ryan M.,* Microfluidics-generated immunomodulatory nanoparticles and formulation-dependent effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage inflammation. The AAPS Journal 2022. 24:6.
  4. Lasola, J.J.M., Cottingham, A.L., Scotland, B., Truong, N., Hong, C.C., Shapiro, P., and Pearson, Ryan M.,* Immunomodulatory nanoparticles mitigate macrophage-driven severe inflammation via blockade of PAMP-macrophage interactions and lactate-mediated reprogramming. Pharmaceutics 2021. 13, 1841. DOI:3390/pharmaceutics13111841.
  5. Chakraborty, A., Ciciriello, A.J., Dumont, C.M.*, Pearson, Ryan M.,* Nanoparticle-based delivery to treat spinal cord injury. AAPS PharmSciTech 2021. 22 (3), 1-9. *Co-corresponding authors.
  6. Chakraborty, A., Gvozdenovic-Jeremic, J., Wang, F., Hoag, S.W., Vert-Wong, K., and Pearson, Ryan M.,* Hedgehog pathway inhibitors significantly reduce the formation of heterotopic ossification in a direct trauma/burn mouse model. BioRxiv 2021. DOI:1101/2021.01.31.429058. (preprint).
  7. Chakraborty, A., Lasola, J.J.M., Truong, N., Pearson, Ryan M.,* Serum-independent non-viral gene delivery to innate and adaptive immune cells using immunoplexes. ACS Applied Bio Materials 2020. 3, 9, 6263-6272.
  8. Lasola, J.J.M., Kamdem, H., McDaniel, M., Pearson, Ryan M.,* Biomaterial-driven immunomodulation: Cell biology-based strategies to mitigate severe inflammation and sepsis. Frontiers in Immunology 2020. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01726.
  9. Freitag, T.L.,* Podojil, J.R.,* Pearson, Ryan M., Fokta, F.J., Sahl, C., Messing M., Andersson, L.C., Kakade, S., Drobskovia, M., Anthony, T., Incardonna, F., Hoover, L.I., Huang, K., Phippard, D., Meri, S., Kelly, C., Maleki, S., King, N.J.C., Shea­, L.D., Miller, S.D., and Getts, D.R. Gliadin nanoparticles induce tolerance to gliadin in mouse models of celiac disease. Gastroenterology 2020. 158(6), pp 1667-1681.
  10. Casey, L.M., Kakade, S., Decker, J.T., Rose, J., Deans, K., Shea, L.D.*, and Pearson, Ryan M*. Cargo-less nanoparticles program innate immune cell responses to Toll-like receptor activation. Biomaterials 2019. 218, 119333. * Co-corresponding authors.
  11. Saito, E., Kuo, R., Pearson, Ryan M., Gohel, N., Cheung, B., King, N.J., Miller, S.D., and Shea, L.D. Designing drug-free biodegradable nanoparticles to modulate inflammatory monocytes and neutrophils for ameliorating inflammation. Journal of Controlled Release 2019. 300, pp 185-196.
  12. Skoumal, M.,* Woodward, K.B.,* Pearson, Ryan M., Zhao, H., Wang, F., Yolcu, E.S., Garcia, A.J., Shea, L.D., Shirwan, H. Localized Immune Tolerance from FasL-functionalized PLG Scaffolds. Biomaterials 2019. 192, pp 271-281. *co-first author.
  13. Pearson, Ryan M.,* Podojil, J.R.,* King, N.J., Shea, L.D., Miller, S.D., Getts, D.R. Overcoming challenges in treating autoimmunity: Development of tolerogenic immune-modifying nanoparticles. Nanomedicine: NBM 2019. 18, pp 282-291. *co-first author.