About

Heather D. Maynard is the Dr. Myung Ki Hong Professor in Polymer Science, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and a founding member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. She is also the Co-Director of the National Science Foundation BioPACIFIC Materials Innovation Platform. Maynard is a worldwide leader in the area of protein-polymer conjugates, which are important therapeutics for a variety of diseases. She develops new synthetic methods to make the materials, invents new polymers to improve properties such as stability, and demonstrates preclinical efficacy of her conjugates with an eye towards translation for human health. Maynard also works in the area of smart materials for precision medicine: materials that respond to disease states in the body. Her research lies at the frontiers of polymer chemistry and medicine, focusing on fundamental science and applications in drug delivery. Her group has made extensive contributions to the field of protein-polymer conjugates, including the use of controlled radical polymerizations for grafting to proteins and synthesizing complex conjugates. Additionally, her work on responsive drugs involves creating materials that sense low glucose levels to release therapeutics like glucagon, with ongoing efforts to develop nanoparticles for treating nocturnal hypoglycemia. She is also engaged in the synthesis of biomimetic and bioderived materials, exploring natural molecule mimics and high throughput systems biology approaches. Maynard's research and teaching have been recognized with numerous awards, and she has been elected to prestigious organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and AAAS. Her educational background includes a BS in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MS in Materials Science from UC Santa Barbara, a PhD from Caltech, and a postdoctoral fellowship at ETH Zurich.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Polymer chemistry
• Materials science
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Selected publications

• A comparative study of dual thermal- and glucose-responsive nanogel systems

  Polymer Journal · 2026-01-06

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Traceless linkers used for reversible protein–polymer conjugations

  Chemical Science · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Proteins and peptides are an important class of biomolecules employed as therapeutics. Polymer conjugation to therapeutic proteins and peptides can improve their stability and circulation time, as well as reduce aggregation compared to the native biomolecule. However, the steric effect of a large polymer has the potential to drastically reduce or even completely inhibit the bioactivity of the protein. In these cases, traceless and reversible protein-polymer conjugation, in which native protein is released upon exposure to specific stimuli, can be utilized to both mitigate the undesirable effect of conjugation, while also taking advantage of the benefits prior to the cargo delivery. In this review, various linkers used in the reversible conjugations of polymers onto proteins are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Important design rules discovered for supramolecular multivalent ligands interacting with dynamic receptors

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-10-20

  letterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Important design rules discovered for supramolecular multivalent ligands interacting with dynamic receptors

  PublisherDOI

• An Orally Administered Misuse Deterrent Opioid Prodrug for Treatment of Acute Pain

  JACS Au · 2025-10-15

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  studies warrant further examination of this prodrug scaffold for its potential as a misuse deterrent alternative to treat acute pain.

  PublisherDOI

• <i>In silico</i> screening of <i>P</i> , <i>N</i> -ligands facilitates optimization of Au( <scp>iii</scp> )-mediated <i>S</i> -arylation

  Chemical Science · 2025-01-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  In silico examination of 13 P , N -ligated Au( iii ) OACs determined the key mechanistic factors governing Au( iii )-mediated S -arylation. Three complexes were synthesized which exhibited bimolecular coordination rate constants as high as 20 200 M −1 s −1 .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Implementation and evaluation of the s-G8 patient reported frailty assessment in an oncology outpatient department

  Journal of Geriatric Oncology · 2025-11-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Biosourced Functional Hydroxybenzoate-<i>co</i>-Lactide Polymers with Antimicrobial Activity

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2025-05-17 · 7 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent global health challenge, and compounds that address this issue have attracted significant attention. In particular, bioderived molecules that possess natural antimicrobial properties can be useful to prepare active macromolecules that are degradable. In this work, a 4-(methyl/allyl/benzyl)oxy-6-(H/alkyl)-2-oxy-benzoate-co-lactide-based polymer library was designed and studied for antimicrobial activity. The monomer precursors were heterologously produced and purified from an engineered fungal host, chemically modified with 4-(methyl/allyl/benzyl)oxy substituents, and ring-closed to form the 3-methyl-5H-benzo[e][1,4]dioxepine-2,5(3H)-diones. The polymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization using a 3-O urea/1-methyl-2,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-1H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine catalytic system and 3-methyl-butan-1-ol as the initiator. Polymers at different degrees of polymerization were prepared by varying the [monomer]/[initiator] (M/I = 5–30) and tested for activity against the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Polymers were identified that were antimicrobial and disrupted biofilms while maintaining good in vitro biocompatibility. The degradability of the polymers was confirmed. Overall, these results demonstrate the power of utilizing a combination of synthetic biology and chemistry to produce functional and degradable polymers that are potent inhibitors of the Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus, with potential applications in medicine.

  PublisherDOI

• In Silico Screening of P,N-Ligands Facilitates Optimization of Au(III)-Mediated S-Arylation

  ChemRxiv · 2024-09-09

  preprintSenior author

  Metal-mediated cysteine S-arylation is an emerging bioconjugation technique due to its high chemoselectivity, rapid kinetics, and aqueous compatibility. We have previously demonstrated that by altering the sterics of the ligand and aryl groups of an Au(III) oxidative addition complex, one can modulate the kinetics of the bimolecular coordination and induce rate constants up to 16,600 M^−1s^−1. To further enhance the rate of coordination, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the steric properties of the P,N-ligated Au(III) oxidative addition complex as well as the thermodynamics of the S-arylation reaction. This allowed for the accelerated screening of 13 new Au(III) oxidative addition complexes. Three of the more sterically available, synthetically accessible P,N-ligands were synthesized, incorporated into Au(I) and Au(III) complexes, and their rates determined experimentally. The comprehensive mechanistic insights from the DFT calculations led to the development of new reagents with bimolecular coordination rate constants as fast as 20,200 M^−1s^−1. Further experimental characterization of these reagents’ efficacy as S-arylation reagents led to a proposed switch in selectivity-determining step for the fastest reagent, which was further confirmed by profiling the reductive elimination kinetics. This work provides a concise workflow for the screening of metal-mediated cysteine S-arylation reagents and new fundamental insights into the coordination chemistry behavior of Au(III) systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Issue Information ‐ Cover Description

  Journal of Polymer Science · 2024-03-01

  paratextOpen access

  The cover image by Simon van Hurne depicts the formation of a dynamic covalent boronate-TetraAzaADamantane bond, which could be integrated in a covalent adaptable network.As a result of the on-going dynamic bond exchange reactions within this network, the material could undergo stress relaxation.At the same time, the more robust triple bonding motif allowed for stronger materials compared to their conventional boronate ester-based counterparts.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Controlling Rates and Reversibilities of Elimination Reactions of Hydroxybenzylammoniums by Tuning Dearomatization Energies

  ChemRxiv · 2024-02-28

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Hydroxybenzylammonium compounds can undergo a reversible 1,4- or 1,6-elimination to afford quinone methide intermediates after release of the amine. These molecules are useful for the reversible conjugation of payloads to amines in proteins and peptides. We hypothesized that aromaticity could be used to alter the rate of reversibility as a distinct driving force. We describe the use of density functional theory (DFT) calculations to determine the effect of aromaticity on the rate of release of the amine from hydroxybenzylammonium compounds. Namely, altering the aromatic scaffold to lower the energy of dearomatization reduces the kinetic barrier and prevents the reversibility of the amine elimination. We consequently synthesized a small library of polycyclic hydroxybenzylammoniums, which resulted in a range of release half-lives from 18 minutes to 350 hours. The novel mechanistic insight provided in this study significantly expands the range of release rates amenable to hydroxybenzylammonium-containing compounds. This work is useful for the field of traceless, self-immolative linkers as it provides another way to affect the rate of payload release.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Well-Defined Protein-Polymer Conjugates Prepared by Controlled Radical Polymerization

  NSF · $405k · 2004–2008

• Telechelic polymers by RAFT polymerization and application to stable bFGF-polymer conjugates

  NSF · $423k · 2008–2011

• NIH Grant R21EB005838

  NIH · $370k · 2008

• Trehalose Glycopolymers to Enhance both Pharmacokinetics and Stability of Therapeutic Proteins

  NIH · $1.3M · 2016–2021

• Chemistry Biology Interface Training Program

  NIH · $7.7M · 1993–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Jeong Hoon Ko

  University of California, Los Angeles

  75 shared

• Alexander M. Spokoyny

  California NanoSystems Institute

  69 shared

• Marco S. Messina

  University of Delaware

  67 shared

• Juneyoung Lee

  Korea University

  56 shared

• Samantha J. Paluck

  University of California, Los Angeles

  53 shared

• Karen L. Christman

  University of California, San Diego

  47 shared

• Erhan Bat

  Middle East Technical University

  41 shared

• K. N. Houk

  University of California, Los Angeles

  38 shared

Awards & honors

• Election to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), 2025
• Herman F. Mark Senior Scholar Award, Polymer Chemistry Ameri…
• Election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2023
• United Kingdom Outstanding Achievement Award (Macro Group),…
• American Chemical Society Fellow, 2021