Publications

Female Reproductive Health

Schaefer, A., Kushiro, K., Shrestha, B., Zhu, Y., Panjwani, A., Dawson, L., Flowers, H., Vincent, K. L., & Lai, S. K. (2025). Engineering decavalent, sperm‐binding laminin‐igg hybrid antibodies for potent non‐hormonal contraception. Advanced Science, https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202506272

Kushiro, K., Hammers, S., Zhu, Y., Flowers, H. B., Dawson, L., Panjwani, A., Schaefer, A., Quan, D., Gibb, K., McSweeney, M., Cone, R., Moench, T., Vincent, K. L., & Lai, S. K. (2025). Vaginally-delivered fast-dissolving antibody tablets (FDAT) for on-demand non-hormonal contraception and multi-purpose protection. Journal of Controlled Release, 382, 113662. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168365925002822

Shrestha, B., Vincent, K., Schaefer, A., Yong, Z., Vargas, G., Motamedi, M., Swope, K., Morton, J., Simpson, C., Pham, H., Brennan, M. B., Pauly, M. H., Zeitlin, L., Bratcher, B., Whaley, K., Moench, T., Lai, S. K. (2021). Hexavalent sperm-binding IgG antibody released from vaginal film for development of potent on-demand nonhormonal female contraception. PNAS, 118(48):e2107832118. Highlighted in GEN, Chemistry World

Shrestha, B., Schaefer, A., Zhu, Y., Saada, J., Jacobs, T. M., Chavez, E. C., Omsted, S. S., Cruz-Teran, C. A., Baldeon Vaca, G., Vincent, K., Moench, T. R., Lai, S. K. (2021). Highly potent multimeric sperm-binding antibodies for effective female non-hormonal contraception in vivo. Science Translational Medicine, 13(606):eabd5219. Highlighted in The Scientist, MedScape, WRAL TechWire

Anderson, D., Politch, J. A., Cone, R., Zeitlin, L., Lai, S. K., Santangelo, P. J., Moench, M. R., Whaley, K. J. (2020). Engineering monoclonal antibody-based contraception and multipurpose prevention technologies. Biology of Reproduction, 103(2): 275–285.

Shrestha, B., Schaefer, A., Chavez, E., Kopp, A. J., Jacobs, T. M., Moench, T. R., Lai, S. K. (2020). Engineering tetravalent IgGs with enhanced agglutination potencies for trapping vigorously motile sperm in mucin matrix. Acta Biomaterialia, 117:226-234.

Zhu, Y., Saada, J., Shrestha, B., Lai, S. K., Villarreal, P., Pyles, R., Motamedi, M., Vargas, G., Moench, T., Vincent, K. L. (2020). Surrogate post-coital testing for contraceptive efficacy against human sperm activity in the ovine vaginal model. Biology of Reproduction, 104(2):317-324.

Muco-trapping mAbs

Schaefer, A., Yang, B., Schroeder, H., Harit, D., Humphry, M. S., Zeitlin, L., Whaley, K. J., Ravel, J., Fischer, W., Lai, S. K. (2024). ZMapp mediated trapping of Ebola VLPs in fresh human cervicovaginal mucus. Emerging Microbes & Infection, 13(1).

McSweeney, M., Alnajjar, S., Schaefer, A., Richardson, Z., Wolf, W., Stewart, I., Sriboonyapirat, P., McCallen, J., Farmer, E., Nzati, B., Lord, S., Farrer, B., Moench, T. R., Kumar, P. A., Arora, H., Pickles, R. J., Hickey, A., Ackermann, M., Lai, S. K. (2024). Inhaled “muco-trapping” monoclonal antibody for effective therapy against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. Advanced Science, 11(12):e2306729.

Tiruthani, K., Cruz-Teran, C., Chan, J. F. W., Ma, A., McSweeney, M., Wolf, W., Yuan, S. F., Poon, V. K. M., Chan, C. C. S., Botta, L., Farrer, B., Stewart, I., Schaefer, A., Edelstein, J., Kumar, P. A., Auror, H., Hutchins, J. T., Hickey, A., Yuen, K. Y., Lai, S. K. (2024). Engineering a “muco-trapping” ACE2-immunoglobulin hybrid with picomolar affinity as an inhaled, pan-variant immunotherapy for COVID-19. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine, e10650.

Schaefer, A., Yang, B., Schroeder, H., Harit, D., Humphry, M. S., Ravel, J., Lai, S. K. (2023). Broadly neutralizing antibodies consistently trap HIV-1 in fresh cervicovaginal mucus from select individuals. Acta Biomaterialia, 169:387-397.

McSweeney, M., Stewart, I., Richardson, Z., Kang, H., Park, Y., Kim, C., Tiruthani, K., Wolf, W., Schaefer, A., Kumar, P., Aurora, H., Hutchins, J., Cho, J., Hickey, A., Lee, S. Y., Lai, S. K. (2022). Stable nebulization and muco-trapping properties of Regdanvimab/IN-006 supports its development as a potent, dose-saving inhaled therapy for COVID-19. Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, 8(1):e10391.

Schaefer, A., Lai, S. K. (2021). The biophysical principles underpinning muco-trapping functions of antibodies. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 1-10.

Schiller, J. L., Lai, S. K. (2020). Tuning Barrier Properties of Biological Hydrogels. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 3(5) 2875–2890.

Schiller, J. L., Fogle M. M., Bussey, O., Kissner, W. J., Hill D. B., Lai, S. K. (2020). Antibody-mediated trapping in biological hydrogels is governed by sugar-sugar hydrogen bonds. Acta Biomaterialia, 107:91-101.

Schroeder, H. A., Newby, J., Schaefer, A., Subramani, B., Tubbs, A., Forest, M. G., Miao, E., Lai, S. K. (2020). LPS-binding IgG arrests actively motile Salmonella Typhimurium in gastrointestinal mucus. Mucosal Immunology, 13:814-823. www.nature.com/articles/s41385-020-0267-9

Zhu, F., Jay, M., Schiller, J. L., Schroeder, H. A., Wessler, T., Chen, A., Forest, M. G., Lai, S. K. (2019). Modeling barrier properties of intestinal mucus reinforced with IgG and secretory IgA against motile bacteria. ACS Infectious Disease, 5(9):1570-1580.

Schiller, J. L., Marvin, A., McCallen, J. D., Lai, S. K. (2019). Robust antigen-specific tuning of the nanoscale barrier properties of biogels using matrix-associating IgG and IgM antibodies. Acta Biomaterialia, 89:95-103.

Schroeder, H. A., Nunn, K. L., Schaefer, A., Henry, C. E., Lam, F., Pauly, M. H., Whaley, K. J., Zeitlin, L., Humphrys, M. S., Ravel, J., Lai, S. K. (2018). Herpes simplex virus binding IgG traps HSV in human cervicovaginal mucus across the menstrual cycle and diverse vaginal microbial composition. Mucosal Immunology, 11:1477–1486.

Yang, B., Schaefer, A., Wang, Y.Y., McCallen, J. D., Lee, P., Newby, J., Arora, H., Kumar, P. A., Zeitlin, L., Whaley, K. J., McKinley, S. A., Fischer, W., Harit, D., Lai, S. K. (2018). ZMapp Reinforces the Airway Mucosal Barrier Against Ebola Virus. Journal of Infectious Disease, 218(6):901-910.

Newby, J., Schiller, J., Wessler, T., Edelstein, J., Forest, M. G., Lai, S. K. (2017). A blueprint for robust crosslinking of mobile species in biogels using third-party molecular anchors with short-lived anchor-matrix bonds. Nature Communications, 8(1):833.

Wang, Y.Y., Harit, D., Subramani, D. B., Arora, H., Kumar, P., Lai, S. K. (2017). Influenza-binding antibodies immobilise influenza viruses in fresh human airway mucus. European Respiratory Journal, 49:1601709.

Wessler, T., Chen, A., McKinley, S. A., Cone, R., Forest, M. G., Lai, S. K. (2015). Using computational modeling to optimize the design of antibodies that trap viruses in mucus. ACS Infectious Disease, 2(1):82-92.

Chen, A., McKinley, S. A., Wang, S., Shi, F., Mucha, P. J., Forest, M. G., & Lai, S. K. (2014). Transient antibody-mucin interactions produce a dynamic molecular shield against viral invasion. Biophysical journal, 106(9), 2028–2036. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017286/

Wang, Y.Y., Kannan, A., Nunn, K.L., Murphy, M.A., Subramani, D.B., Moench, T., Cone, R., Lai, S.K. (2014). IgG in cervicovaginal mucus traps HSV and prevents vaginal herpes infections. Mucosal Immunology, 7(5): p. 1036-44. https://www.nature.com/articles/mi2013120

Mucosal Health

Tachedjian, G., Aldunate, M., Bradshaw, C. S., Cone, R. A. (2017). The role of lactic acid production by probiotic Lactobacillus species in vaginal health. Res Microbiol, Nov-Dec;168(9-10):782-792. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0923250817300839?via%3Dihub

Overcoming Polymer Immunogenicity

Shen, L., Li, Z., Ma, A., Cruz-Teran, C., Talkington, A., Shipley, S. T., & Lai, S. K. (2024). Free PEG suppresses anaphylaxis to PEGylated nanomedicine in swine. ACS Nano, 18(12):8733–8744.

Li, Z., Shen, L., Ma, A., Talkington, A., Li, Z., Nyborg, A. C., Bowers, M. S., LaMoreaux, B., Livingston, E. W., Frank, J. E., Yuan, H., & Lai, S. K. (2023). Addition of high MW polyethylene glycol to pegloticase effectively reduces PEG-immunogenicity and restores prolonged pegloticase circulation in mouse. Acta Biomaterialia, 170:250-259.

Talkington, A. M., McSweeney, M. D., Wessler, T., Rath, M. K., Li, Z., Zhang, T., Yuan, H., Frank, J. E., Forest, M. G., Cao, Y., & Lai, S. K. (2022). A PBPK model that recapitulates anti-PEG antibody-mediated accelerated blood clearance of PEGylated nanomedicines in vivo. Journal of Controlled Release, 343:518-527.

Talkington, A. M., McSweeney, M. D., Zhang, T., Li, Z., Nyborg, A. C., LaMoreaux, B., Livingston, E. W., Frank, J. E., Yuan, H., & Lai, S. K. (2021). High MW PEG restores prolonged circulation of Krystexxa in mice with anti-PEG antibodies. Journal of Controlled Release, 338:804-812.

McSweeney, M. D., Mohan, M., Commins, S. P., & Lai, S. K. (2021). Anaphylaxis to Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in a patient with clinically confirmed PEG allergy. Frontiers Allergy, 2:715844.

McSweeney, M. D., Shen, L., DeWalle, A. C., Joiner, J. B., Ciociola, E. C., Raghuwanshi, D., Macauley, M. S., & Lai, S. K. (2021). Pre-treatment with high molecular weight free PEG effectively suppresses anti-PEG antibody induction by PEG-liposomes in mice. Journal of Controlled Release, 311-312: 138–146.

McSweeney, M. D., Price, L. S. L., Wessler, T., Ciociola, E. C., Herity, L. B., Piscitelli, J. A., DeWalle, A. C., Harris, T. N., Chan, A. K. P., Saw, R. S., Hu, P., Jennette, J. C., Forest, M. G., Cao, Y., Montgomery, S. A., Zamboni, W. C., & Lai, S. K. (2019). Overcoming anti-PEG antibody mediated accelerated blood clearance of PEGylated therapeutics by preinfusion with high molecular weight free PEG. Journal of Controlled Release, 311:138-146.

McSweeney, M. D., Wessler, T., Price, L. S. L., Ciociola, E. C., Herity, L. B., Piscitelli, J. A., Zamboni, W. C., Forest, M. G., Cao, Y., & Lai, S. K. (2018). A minimal physiologically based pharmacokinetic model that predicts anti-PEG antibody-mediated clearance of PEGylated drugs in human and mouse. Journal of Controlled Release, 284:171-178.