Samuel Stupp

Dr. Samuel I. Stupp is a pioneer in supramolecular chemistry and self-assembling materials whose discovery of peptide amphiphile nanofibers has created a transformative platform for regenerative medicine. His research has demonstrated that synthetic molecules programmed to self-assemble into bioactive nanostructures can signal cells to regenerate tissues, most dramatically enabling paralyzed mice to walk again after severe spinal cord injury.

Stupp was born on January 9, 1951, in San José, Costa Rica, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who had fled the turmoil preceding World War II. His father developed the first record manufacturing facility in Central America, exposing the young Stupp to electrochemistry and polymer science. He came to the United States in 1968 to attend UCLA, where he earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1972. He received his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University in 1977.

Stupp began his independent research career at Northwestern in 1977 as Assistant Professor but moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1980, where he held appointments in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry and Bioengineering. At Illinois his research focused on materials chemistry, self-assembly and organic-inorganic hybrid materials. In 1999 he returned to Northwestern as Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering. He founded the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine in 2000 and currently directs the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology and the Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science, an Energy Frontiers Research Center funded by the Department of Energy.

The central theme of Stupp's research is designing organic molecules programmed to spontaneously form nanostructures through noncovalent interactions. In the early 1990s he discovered a molecule that serendipitously formed two-dimensional supramolecular polymers, sparking his interest in understanding how molecular structure determines assembly behavior. In 2001 Stupp and postdoctoral fellow Jeffrey Hartgerink discovered a new class of peptide amphiphiles with the ability to self-assemble into nanoscale filaments. These molecules contain a hydrophobic alkyl tail conjugated to a β-sheet-forming peptide segment and a bioactive epitope sequence. When dissolved in water and exposed to physiological salt concentrations, they rapidly assemble into high-aspect-ratio cylindrical nanofibers that mimic components of the extracellular matrix.

The peptide amphiphile platform enables precise control over the bioactive signals displayed on nanofiber surfaces. Stupp's laboratory has incorporated epitopes derived from laminin, bone morphogenetic proteins, fibroblast growth factors and other signaling molecules. By presenting these signals at high local density on nanofiber surfaces, the materials communicate directly with cell receptors to promote differentiation, migration and regeneration. When injected as liquids, the peptide amphiphile solutions immediately gel upon contact with tissue, forming three-dimensional scaffolds that integrate with surrounding extracellular matrix.

In 2008 Stupp published foundational work with John Kessler applying peptide amphiphile nanofibers to spinal cord injury in mice. In 2021 Stupp reported a major advance in Science, demonstrating that tuning the dynamics of molecules within supramolecular assemblies dramatically enhances their biological activity. By modifying the peptide sequences to increase molecular motion within the nanofibers, his team created what they termed "dancing molecules" that more effectively engage cell surface receptors. In severely paralyzed mice, a single injection of these dynamic peptide amphiphile nanofibers regenerated severed axons, reduced scar tissue, rebuilt myelin, restored blood vessels and promoted survival of motor neurons. Within four weeks, the animals regained the ability to walk. The materials biodegraded within twelve weeks with no detectable side effects.

The peptide amphiphile strategy has been extended to regeneration of bone, cartilage, muscle, blood vessels and other tissues. Stupp's laboratory has developed nanofibers that stop noncompressible torso hemorrhage, promote bone regeneration at low doses of growth factors and restore damaged cartilage in models of osteoarthritis. His group has also applied self-assembling systems to photocatalytic hydrogen production for solar fuels and to the development of robotic soft matter capable of actuation.

Stupp has published over 500 peer-reviewed papers and was among the 100 most cited chemists in the 2000-2010 decade. In 2001 he chaired the first review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative at the request of the White House Economic Council and the National Academy of Engineering.

Stupp is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, the Royal Spanish Academy, the National Academy of Sciences of Latin America and the National Academy of Sciences of Costa Rica. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

His honors include the U.S. Department of Energy Prize for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Materials Chemistry in 1991, the Humboldt Award for Senior U.S. Scientists in 1997, the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry in 2005, the Materials Research Society Medal Award, the International Award from the Society of Polymer Science of Japan, and the Royal Society of Chemistry Award in Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry. In 2012 he received the American Chemical Society Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry. He received the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry in 2022 and the Materials Research Society Von Hippel Award, the society's highest honor, in 2022. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Gothenburg and Eindhoven University of Technology.

Stupp married Dévora Grynspan in 1972. They reside in Chicago.

Photo Credit: Portrait of Samuel Stupp, 23 February 2021, Own work by LiamPalmer; retrieved from Wikimedia Commons