
Biography
John D. Lambris received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1979. He is the Dr. Ralph and Sallie Weaver Professor of Research Medicine in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Using complement as a model system, Dr. Lambris applies ideas and methods embodied in engineering, computer science, physics, chemistry, biomedicine, and other fields to study the structure and functions of the complement system. Read more
Research Focus
Our current research efforts focus on the structural-functional aspects of protein-protein interactions and the rational design of small-size complement inhibitors. We also study the viral molecular mimicry and immune evasion strategies, as well as the evolution of complement biology. In addition, we study the involvement of various complement components with developmental pathways and the role of complement in tissue regeneration, early hematopoietic development and cancer. Read more
Inventions
Dr. Lambris is the inventor of patents and/or patent applications that describe the use of complement inhibitors for therapeutic purposes; the founder of Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, which is developing complement inhibitors (including next-generation compstatin analogues such as AMY‑101 and AMY‑106) for clinical applications, and the inventor of the compstatin technology licensed to Apellis Pharmaceuticals (4(1MeW)7W (also known as POT‑4 and APL‑1) and pegylated derivatives such asAPL-2/pegcetacoplan. Read more