SPPS welcomes Anna Schwendeman, PhD, as 2024 David Chu Lecturer

The David Chu lectureship was established in 2011 by C. K. David Chu, PhD, and his wife, Jane Chu. Chu is a distinguished research professor emeritus of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences at the College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia. He earned a PhD in medicinal chemistry from UB in 1975. Throughout his 40-year career he trained more than 130 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and has maintained an active research program in drug design and synthesis since retiring in 2008.

For our 2024 David Chu Lectureship, Schwendeman presented on "Synthetic High‐Density Lipoproteins – Nano Medicine and Drug Delivery Carriers." Her visit also included meetings with pharmaceutical sciences faculty, post docs and students.

Schwendeman earned her PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from The Ohio State University in 2000. Prior to starting her academic career in 2012, she worked in the pharmaceutical industry at Cerenis Therapeutics, Pfizer and Esperion Therapeutics where she was involved in discovery and translation of high density lipoprotein (HDL) drugs to Phase II clinical trials. She is a co‐director of the FDA funded Center for Research on Complex Generics and is currently the Hans W. Vahlteich Professor of Pharmacy and a member of Biointerfaces Institute at the University of Michigan.

Her research focuses on optimization high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) nanoparticles for treatment of atherosclerosis, sepsis and drug delivery purposes. Schwendeman’s laboratory has several ongoing translational collaborative projects focused on assessing sHDL utility for treatment of Alzheimer's disease, sepsis, acute lung injury, lupus and diabetic nephropathy and her research is currently supported by grants from the American Heart Association and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In 2023 she was recognized as a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society and as a Fellow of the American Heart Association and in 2015 won the Biomedical Innovation Shark Tank from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.