Robert Carnahan, PhD, associate director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is among five Vanderbilt University inventors who have been named 2025 Master Innovators for “their extraordinary contributions to translating research into commercial applications that have significant societal impact.”
Established in 2023 by the Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization (CTTC), the Master Innovator Recognition Program honors Vanderbilt faculty members and scientists who have demonstrated exceptional commercialization success through patenting, licensing, and collaboration with industry partners.
Carnahan, professor of Pediatrics and Radiology & Radiological Sciences, is a translational scientist and antibody engineer who specializes in rapid therapeutic development for emerging infectious diseases.
He has led efforts to advance therapeutic monoclonal antibody candidates for Zika, Marburg, hantavirus, and other viral diseases in collaboration with partners including the U.S. Department of Defense and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
With fellow Master Innovator James Crowe Jr., MD, and their colleagues, Carnahan helped identify antibody candidates that were licensed for further development by AstraZeneca and which, in 2021, led to a protective antibody combination against COVID-19.
His innovation portfolio includes 17 invention disclosures, seven issued patents, and 21 licensing transactions. He also served as a CTTC Innovation Ambassador.
Other 2025 Master Innovators are Darren Engers, PhD (Pharmacology) and Kayla Temple, PhD, from the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt, Karl Zelik, PhD (Mechanical Engineering), and John Wikswo, PhD (Physics), founding director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education.
For a list of Master Innovators from previous years, visit https://cttc.co/inventors, and click on Master Innovator Recognition Program.
