Faculty Spotlight: Henry Daniell
In our faculty spotlight series, we feature a Q&A with Henry Daniell, a faculty fellow of the Environmental Innovations Initiative (EII), the W.D. Miller Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Basic & Translational Sciences at Penn's School of Dental Medicine.
By Arina Axinia
Henry Daniell, a faculty fellow of the Environmental Innovations Initiative (EII), is the W.D. Miller Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Basic & Translational Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.
His research focuses on plant molecular biology and biotechnology, using plant material as a delivery mechanism for drugs aimed at addressing infectious and metabolic human diseases. His work also concerns itself with how such plant-based therapeutics and oral delivery systems can address global health and environmental challenges. In a Q&A with EII, Daniell describes his research and its connections to sustainability and the environment, explores how industry and researchers can work better together, and shares what excites him most about mentoring the next generation of scientists and innovators.
What inspired you to develop biopharmaceuticals?
I grew up in India and saw children die as a result of unaffordable vaccines or biopharmaceuticals that are accessible in other economic situations or parts of the world. This is why, when I started my research program in the United States 40 years ago, I made it one of my goals to take on the challenge of improving both accessibility and affordability of biopharmaceuticals. Some of my projects are now reaching the stage of clinical trial investigations, after we recently obtained IND (investigational new drug) approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the first engineered biologic drug that doesn’t require injection or a “cold chain” of refrigeration, thereby reducing its cost. My team and I are constantly tackling emerging new viruses, metabolic disorders like diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
Where did your interest in the environment and nature come from?
Looking back to my college days, what really made me passionate was the fact that, whenever I walked across the Madras Christian College campus in India, I would see these dense rainforests, tropical landscapes, and a place full of life. I got to grow up around a real, living, breathing environment and it fascinated me. During educational class trips, I was fortunate to see elephants or tigers near waterfronts. With the background of my early life and the integration of plants into my research, I soon understood that nature needs to be preserved for future generations to also enjoy. What really pushed me to support preservation of natural spaces was how, every few years, whenever I would go back to India, I would see deterioration of nature and plant life all around. That made a strong impression on me and what I do.
How are you tackling the challenge of cost of drug production?
The pharmaceutical Industry is hiking up costs for so many life-saving medicines, and oftentimes, scientists cannot do a lot about that. However, what my team and I are doing is specifically reducing the production cost of the drug rather than the buying cost.
An example of this is insulin. Current production systems use huge fermentation facilities that cost $500 to $900 million to construct. They grow yeast or bacterial cells that produce insulin in a completely sterile environment, operated under stringent FDA regulatory requirements. The purification process to remove contaminating bacterial proteins is extremely expensive. However, insulin can also be made in plants. My research focuses on how we can create and deliver insulin without the purification process. Our system introduces the insulin gene into plants, grows them, and then freeze-dry them for oral delivery. Human beings consume plants daily and therefore we are not allergic to plant proteins; therefore, using them as a delivery platform can enable us to avoid the time-consuming and costly work of purification from yeast or bacterial cells producing insulin.
How do you see your research expanding in the future?
My research has shown that the plant-produced insulin we've made is stable for two to three years, so that freeze-dried powder could be shipped to countries that can’t maintain a cold chain of refrigeration to protect insulin during storage or transportation. Our goal is for our product to go to any village or country in the world, no matter their climate or socioeconomic situation.
My goal is for us to get the oral insulin medication in the clinic and affordable for individuals that cannot afford the injectable insulin drug. Clinical trials are currently underway; we are hopeful that it can become a viable future option for treating diabetes.
Beyond that, the most promising project that I'm focusing on is an attempt to tackle the ongoing global bird flu building on our recent success in tackling Coronavirus, Influenza and Herpes viruses. Both wild and domestic birds are affected by this disease, and there are signs it can infect many other species as well. We are currently including antiviral proteins that we developed to treat human viruses in bird feed to protect birds from avian flu strains. Virus challenge studies are in progress under strictly contained facilities.
What collaborations have you undertaken in your research?
In the past twelve years at Penn, I've received around $25 million in funding in the past decade collaborating with faculty in PSOM, SAS, Engineering, Veterinary Medicine which has greatly contributed to our breakthrough research. Beyond that, I have had the privilege to receive funding from a variety of major pharmaceutical companies, and we have worked with startups here in Philadelphia as well.
By being here at Penn, I’ve learned that once a product has shown success within the lab, it takes an entire village for it to further progress into a viable product. Whether it's staff spotlights or news articles by Penn Today, it really helps us connect with investors and put out our research forward. Even beyond that, Penn faculty, staff, and many students are what help make our ideas transform into real-world benefits.
How do you engage students in your research?
Even starting at the undergraduate level, every single year I have had Vagelos scholars in my lab helping with all aspects of my research. These scholars get special opportunities from the University to do this type of research, and they also work on their thesis, making them perfect candidates for my lab. In the dental school, several DMD students contribute to ongoing research projects related to oral health. Their work contributes to our research but also, they have an opportunity to publish themselves and put their names out there, even winning Penn's President’s Innovation Prize. I also have doctoral and PhD (DScD) students that do their theses in my lab. All of these students are simply the bread and butter of what makes scientific discoveries possible.
What advice would you give to students wanting to pursue this field?
My advice to students is that, even if you're working in a field that seems to have nothing to do with environmental sustainability, it should never stop you from wanting to draw a connection to the environment. For example, if we consider carbon production, current fermentation technologies produce 100 kg C02 per kg drug but plant production captures 800 kg C02 per kg of protein drug. There is always a tie or a connection to improve our environment. My guidance would be for students to integrate environmental knowledge into their coursework, research, and everyday tasks. By doing this, they can become the future citizens of the world who will solve these complex problems.
Further Reading
An antiviral chewing gum to reduce influenza and herpes simplex virus transmission | Penn Today
A plant-based, oral delivery of insulin regulates blood sugar levels similar to natural insulin | Penn Today