John D. Lambris
Professor John D. Lambris 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. His laboratory contributed in the development of complement-based anti-inflammatory therapeutics through the discovery of the first small-size complement inhibitor, termed Compstatin, which has exhibited consistent efficacy for use in a series of in vivo trials and shows great promise for the use in the clinic. His subsequent efforts to develop more potent compstatin analogues have laid the development of a novel platform for peptide-based drug design, integrating both rational and in silico approaches. In as series of elegant in vivo studies the Lambris lab. established an unprecedented association of complement components with non-inflammatory pathways by demonstrating the involvement of complement in the developmental processes, including liver and limb regeneration, hematopoietic development and stem cell engraftment. Dr. Lambris has also contributed in the field of evolutionary immunology by identifying multiple complement genes in fish and the mechanism by which they expand immune recognition and develop a versatile innate immune system to compensate for their weak adaptive immune repertoire.
Dr. Lambris has published over 450 papers (H index =92) in peer-reviewed journals and is the editor of several books and special journal issues. Dr. Lambris is the Founder and Executive Director of Aegean Conferences, an independent, nonprofit, educational organization and of Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, a company developing complement therapeutics. He also serves as an Editorial Board Member of several peer-reviewed journals, and has served as the President of the International Complement Society.
Our current research efforts focus on the structural-functional aspects of protein-protein interactions and the rational design and therapeutic evaluation of complement inhibitors. In addition we study the involvement of complement with developmental pathways, tissue regeneration and cancer as well as its involvement in the pathogenesis various diseases including AMD, periodontitis, PNH, and G3G.