SUMMARY
Adinarayana Kunamneni, Ph.D., has over 20 years of research and professional experience in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, protein engineering, cell biology and computational biology. His research focuses primarily on developing tools and technologies for antibody discovery and engineering. Dr. Kunamneni generates antibody therapeutics and diagnostics for a variety of conditions. These conditions include infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, Ebola, Zika and malaria, antimicrobial resistance, chronic pain, ischemic stroke, Alzheimer's disease, liver cancer, kidney cancer and thyroid cancer.
Dr. Kunamneni studies the molecular mechanisms of how proteins work and function in biological pathways. He contributed to the early stages of technological development for antibody ribosome display libraries and tools for antibody discovery and engineering. Dr. Kunamneni uses this emerging antibody technology with scientists within Mayo Clinic and externally to explore pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and in vivo efficacy evaluation and enhancements to treat diseases and address unmet patient needs.
The ribosome display platform has harnessed the humanization and affinity maturation stage, which is an intelligent molecular biology tool. This ribosome display platform gives humanization and affinity maturation more rapidly than any other ribosome display available. Dr. Kunamneni applies knowledge of the display platform and the affinity maturation stage in an ingenious way.
Dr. Kunamneni also researches chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy, transplantation, new drug delivery systems and nanotechnology that can target usually inaccessible dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells. When these usually inaccessible dorsal root ganglion cells are targeted, a more potent local drug dosage is unloaded to promote their silence and a return to a baseline activation state. Dr. Kunamneni strives to create a specific and effective method for the nonopioid treatment of neuropathic pain and the prevention of pain recurrence through targeted drug delivery to the brain and DRG cells.
Focus areas
Antibody discovery and engineering. Dr. Kunamneni develops multiple technology platforms to discover new single-chain variable fragment and monoclonal antibodies. He researches ribosome display technology with comprehensive, customized ribosome campaigns for therapeutic antibody discovery. He discovers new, synthetic, immune ribosome or phage libraries that use multiple ribosome libraries, as well as immunization protocols with in-line library construction for therapeutic or diagnostic antibody discovery.
Dr. Kunamneni also develops stand-alone or combined humanization and affinity maturation workflows of potential antibody candidates via ribosome or phage display of complementarity-determining region mutagenic libraries.
He researches artificial intelligence deep learning assisted-algorithms in antibody humanization and antibody virtual screening design.
Additionally, Dr. Kunamneni studies full kinetic characterization using the Octet biolayer interferometry platform.
- Macromolecular mechanisms and interactions. With numerous detailed molecular descriptions of antibody-antigen interfaces, the structural study of these molecular interactions has evolved from an attempt to understand immunological function to their use as model systems for protein-protein interactions.
Significance to patient care
The goal of Dr. Kunamneni's research is to develop effective new antibody-based therapies for infectious diseases and noninfectious conditions. He explores the potential for using single-chain variable fragment antibodies in the clinic as therapeutic molecules for early diagnosis and treatment.
Professional highlights
- Patent co-inventor, Humanized Non-Opioid Composition and Therapies for Pain Management, WO/2023/114962 A1, 2023.
- Patent co-inventor, Humanized Non-Opioid Composition and Therapies for Pain Management, WO 2023/240086 A1, 2023.
- Patent co-inventor, Molecules That Bind to Plasmodium Polypeptides, U.S. patent pending, 63/538,417, 2023.
- Patent co-inventor, Non-Opioid Compositions and Therapies for Pain Management, EP4017881A1, 2022.
- Patent co-inventor, Non-Opioid Compositions and Therapies for Pain Management, CA3152181A1, 2021.
- Patent co-inventor, Non-Opioid Compositions and Therapies for Pain Management, WO2021041194A1, 2021.
- Patent co-inventor, Therapeutic Antibody Fragments, Methods of Making, and Methods of Use, US20210340265A1, 2021.
- Patent co-inventor, Filovirus Antibodies and Methods, WO2020185464A1, 2020.