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John T. Wilson, Ph.D.

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Bio
John T. Wilson is a Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology at Vanderbilt University and is the Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, where he Co-Leads the Host-Tumor Interactions Research Program. He received his B.S. in Bioengineering from the Oregon State University Honors College, where he also trained in several academic and industrial research labs, including the Oregon Medical Laser Center and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. He went on to pursue his doctoral studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology, under the mentorship of Dr. Elliot L. Chaikof, M.D., Ph.D. (currently at BIDMC/Harvard) in the Department of Surgery at Emory University and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech where he was awarded a Whitaker Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Dr. Wilson subsequently joined the laboratory of Patrick Stayton in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington as a postdoctoral fellowship supported by an Irvington Institute-Cancer Research Institute Fellowship. He started his independent career at Vanderbilt in 2014 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2021 and Full Professor in 2025. His multidisciplinary Immunoengineering Laboratory works at the interface of engineering and immunology to improve human health, bringing together expertise in molecular engineering, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical science to develop strategies for more precisely modulating immune and inflammatory responses at the tissue, cell, and subcellular level. He has published more than 50 scientific articles, including in high-impact journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Science Immunology, and Nature Biomedical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and has received several awards including the NSF CAREER award, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation ‘A’ Award, Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grant Award, CBME Young Innovator Award, Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award, Susan G. Komen Catalyst Award, and the Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Award for Research and has been named an Emerging Investigator by Biomaterials Science, a Young Innovator by Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, and a Chancellor Faculty Fellow at Vanderbilt. In his space time, he enjoys spending time with his family, attempting to stay in shape while frequenting Nashville restaurants, and following his beloved Seattle Seahawks and OSU Beavers.