Eric Shusta

Eric Shusta is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with additional affiliations to the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He is a leading expert in brain drug delivery, blood-brain barrier (BBB) modeling, and biopharmaceutical design, and has held prestigious roles including the R. Byron Bird Department Chair and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor.

Education:

• PhD 1999, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• MS 1998, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• BS 1994, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Focus:

Shusta's research centers on overcoming the blood-brain barrier to enable non-invasive delivery of therapeutics to the brain. His lab employs molecular engineering, antibody discovery, and stem cell technologies to develop novel platforms for CNS drug delivery. A major thrust of his work involves creating accurate in vitro models of the BBB using human pluripotent stem cells, enabling high-throughput screening and disease modeling.

His team has pioneered the use of yeast surface display to identify antibodies that target BBB transport systems and has developed stem cell-derived models to study neurovascular interactions in health and disease. These efforts bridge protein engineering, cellular biology, and translational neuroscience.

Scientific Awards:

• R. Byron Bird Department Chair (2021)
• Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor (2018)
• Howard Curler Distinguished Professor (2015)
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2014)
• NIH EUREKA Grant Award (2010)
• NSF CAREER Award (2003)
• Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award (2001)

Teaching & Mentorship:

Shusta teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in chemical and biological engineering, including special topics in research methods and thesis advising. He also mentors students in biomedical engineering and molecular biology.

Labs & Teams:

He leads a multidisciplinary research group at UW-Madison that integrates protein engineering, stem cell biology, and neuropharmacology to address challenges in CNS therapeutics. His lab collaborates with clinical and translational researchers to advance brain-targeted therapies.