Scott Working to Impact Patients on a Larger Scale
Translating Biomedical Research to Patient Impact at Population Level
Evan Scott, PhD, Kay Davis Professor of Biomedical Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering
Once a pre-med biomedical engineering undergraduate with clinical ambitions, Evan Scott became intrigued by the potential of basic science to help larger populations lead healthier lives — so much so he shifted his postgraduate plans from medical school to translational research.
Since joining Northwestern’s faculty in 2013, Scott has been pursuing that work in earnest.
In his Northwestern-based lab, Scott investigates the basic immunological processes contributing to diverse inflammation-driven pathologies and he uses engineering and materials-based strategies to develop targeted therapeutic approaches to combat heart disease, vaccination, and immune dysregulation.
Over the last seven years, Scott has worked with INVO to push his enterprising efforts from the lab to the marketplace.
Beginning in 2016, INVO helped Scott protect intellectual property (IP), specifically his development of a novel synthetic drug carrier platform for subcutaneous nanotherapy. In the years since, INVO has continued supporting Scott and his intensifying entrepreneurial ambitions.
For example, INVO’s therapeutic bootcamp, INVOForward, allowed Scott to formulate his ideas and prepared for the launch of SNC Therapeutics with his cofounder, Dr. Jacqueline Burke. With its broad gene and drug delivery platform, SNC taps into surging interest in nonviral synthetic nanocarrier (SNC) systems to addresses issues with toxicity, scalability, and payload stability inherent to current viral and lipid nanoparticle vehicles.
INVO also helped Scott cultivate relationships within the Chicago startup ecosystem.
These introductions to the broader investment community, administrative support, and battle-tested counsel culminated in SNC capturing the highly competitive AbbVie Innovation Midwest (AIM) Award in 2022. The award provided investment from AbbVie Ventures and support from AbbVie Research and Development, which contributed to SNC’s smooth launch in December 2023.
SNC closer to commercialization of its key technologies, including a cancer gene therapy currently in animal testing. SNC will soon join the Querrey InQbation Lab, where access to additional resources, support, and space promises to catalyze SNC’s growth and position Scott to accomplish his goal of achieving global patient impact.