David J. Peeler, PhD

Incoming Assistant Professor
Department of Bioengineering, University of Oregon
Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

Research Fellow, Laboratory of Prof. Dame Molly M. Stevens
Department of Materials, Imperial College London
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford

Honorary member, Group of Mucosal Infection & Immunity
Laboratory of Prof. Robin J. Shattock
Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London

dpeeler [at] ic.ac.uk

Education

PhD, Bioengineering (2019)
University of Washington

BS, Bioengineering (2013)
University of Maryland

Selected Awards

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021-23)

Fred Hutchinson/NIH T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined; 2019)

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Postbac Fellowship (2013)

I am a nanomaterial immunoengineer studying how drug delivery vehicles shape innate immune responses to the next generation of nucleic acid therapies. I'm launching the Biomaterial Research for Immunomodulation, Drug delivery, and Genetic Engineering (BRIDGE) lab in January 2026 in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Oregon, where we'll apply polymer chemistry, pharmaceutical science, and materials science fundamentals in the pursuit of immunology questions and answers. By bridging barriers to delivery, we will translate safer, more potent vaccines with cost-effective global health impact and invent in situ immunotherapies for cancer and regenerative medicine. I've dedicated my life to improving medicine, uplifting young scientists, and learning forever--please reach out if you or someone you know is interested in joining the team as a PhD student, postdoc, or research staff!

During my postdoc in the labs of Prof. Dame Molly Stevens and Prof. Robin Shattock at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, I worked on 3D-printed protein vaccine delivery systems, saRNA vaccine manufacturing scale-up, and adjuvanted antiviral and antibacterial RNA vaccines. Prior to moving to the UK in 2020, I received my PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Washington under the guidance of Prof. Suzie Pun and Prof. Drew Sellers in collaboration with Prof. Patrick Stayton, where I used controlled polymerization techniques to engineer nucleic acid and cancer vaccine delivery systems. My earliest research experiences were at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, and the US Food and Drug Administration in my home state.

Incoming Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Bioengineering, University of OregonPhil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

Research Fellow, Laboratory of Prof. Dame Molly M. StevensDepartment of Materials, Imperial College LondonKavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford

Honorary member, Group of Mucosal Infection & ImmunityLaboratory of Prof. Robin J. ShattockDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London

dpeeler [at] ic.ac.uk

Incoming Assistant Professor
Department of Bioengineering, University of Oregon
Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

Research Fellow, Laboratory of Prof. Dame Molly M. Stevens
Department of Materials, Imperial College London
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford

Honorary member, Group of Mucosal Infection & Immunity
Laboratory of Prof. Robin J. Shattock
Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London