Dehua Pei, a professor in chemistry and biochemistry, was elected to the class of 2025 National Academy of Inventors, also known as NAI. Other fellows include professors Anant Agarwal, in electrical and computer engineering, and Alan Luo, in materials science, engineering and integrated systems engineering. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Three Ohio State researchers earned the NAI fellow, the highest distinction awarded to inventors for their work in various fields.
Dehua Pei, a professor in chemistry and biochemistry, was elected to the class of 2025 National Academy of Inventors, also known as NAI. Other fellows include professors Anant Agarwal, in electrical and computer engineering, and Alan Luo, in materials science, engineering and integrated systems engineering.
The Lantern was able to talk to the other professors. The Lantern published Luo’s profile on Tuesday and Agarwal will be the last story.
The program is one of the NAI’s Inventor Recognition Programs which honors academic inventors who have excelled in innovation, per prior Lantern reporting. Since 2013, Ohio State has developed 23 fellows.
Pei has been a chemistry and biochemistry professor at Ohio State since 1995. In the last decade, his research has focused on how biomolecules travel across cell membranes and how human cells deal with the environment, he said.
Proteins, the most prominent biological molecules, are the workforce of biology, Pei said. Most of the functions of our cell are performed by proteins.
Comparing a human cell to a building, Pei said there are multiple rooms and different compartments that require the delivery of proteins to carry out the cell’s function. His research focuses on how these proteins move despite their large size.
Pei’s research also concerns the cells’ interaction with the environment, looking into the need to bring nutrients into cells to assist in protein synthesis as well as the aspect of disease-causing viruses traveling into our cells and potentially harming the molecules inside it.
Once he discovered how these bigger molecules cross the membrane wall, different industries made great strides within their field, Pei said.
In the drug discovery industry, academic groups, like his own, are now able to design artificial biomolecules as a therapeutic agent that can target and combat human diseases within the cells.
“Our hope is that one day people will provide therapeutics for diseases which we have no solutions for today,” Pei said.
On the fundamental side, Pei’s group discovered how large proteins, biomolecules and bacterial toxins cross cell membranes, by creating a bubble.
“So what we discovered is that, in this case, the molecules don’t actually break a hole in the wall,” said Pei. “What they do is blow a bubble.”
Pei said the proteins and biomolecules bind to the membrane wall, changing its shape to allow the bubble to get to the other side. Once it makes it through, the bubble pops, what they call the collapse side, and the molecules successfully transfer to the inside of the cell.
“One of my goals is to demonstrate that this is not only applicable to the few systems that we have experimentally demonstrated, but it’s a universal principle,” Pei said.
On the practical side, Pei’s lab group is developing artificial systems that can help cell membranes cross even more efficiently, he said.
This class of drugs, called intracellular biologics, function as targets to “undruggable” proteins, according to Ohio State College of Arts and Sciences’ website.
This new class of drug development created model patents and companies meant to commercialize these technologies, Pei said.
Since the transport of molecules across the cell membrane is a fundamental part of biology, it is critical in how humans function properly, Pei said. In his research, Pei makes sure to understand its role in nature while creating developments that will benefit society.
“In our case we do consider how we could use our tech, our understanding, for societal benefits,” Pei said.
Although Pei has received many honors, he said the research is a group effort, as he works with graduate students and undergraduate students.
Pei said that great things can be achieved at Ohio State if hard work is put into research, opening the door to potential world-changing discoveries and inventions.
“If you’re a graduate student, undergraduate student or postdoc at Ohio State and if you’re willing to invest time and effort into this, you can make a difference,” Pei said.
Last year, Pei won the 2025 Distinguished Scholar Award at Ohio State which honors six faculty members for their “exceptional scholarly accomplishments and substantial compilation of research,” according to its website.
