Robert Waymouth

About

Robert Waymouth is the Robert Eckles Swain Professor of Chemistry and also holds a courtesy appointment in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. His research focuses on developing new catalytic strategies to create useful molecules, including bioactive polymers, synthetic fuels, and sustainable plastics. He has made significant contributions in organometallic catalysis, devising highly selective alcohol oxidation catalysts and developing platforms of organic catalysts and continuous flow reactors to access complex polymer architectures. His group has also pioneered selective organocatalytic strategies for synthesizing functional degradable polymers and oligomers that serve as 'molecular transporters' for gene, drug, and probe delivery into cells and live animals. Notably, his collaborative work with Professor Wender led to the discovery of Charge-Altering Releasable Transporters (CARTs), a new class of synthetic cationic materials effective for RNA delivery and mRNA-based cancer vaccines. Born in 1960 in Warner Robins, Georgia, Waymouth studied chemistry and mathematics at Washington and Lee University, graduating summa cum laude in 1982. He completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1987 under Professor R.H. Grubbs, focusing on synthetic and mechanistic organometallic chemistry. His postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich with Professor Piero Pino concentrated on catalytic hydrogenation with chiral metallocene catalysts. He joined…

Research topics

• Biology
• Physics
• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Biotechnology
• Virology
• Chemical physics
• Organic chemistry

Selected publications

• Condensing water vapor to droplets generates hydrogen peroxide

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 241 citations

  from water microdroplets is a general phenomenon. These findings provide innovative opportunities for green chemistry at heterogeneous interfaces, self-cleaning of surfaces, and safe and effective disinfection. They also may have important implications for prebiotic chemistry.

  DOI

• An mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Employing Charge-Altering Releasable Transporters with a TLR-9 Agonist Induces Neutralizing Antibodies and T Cell Memory

  ACS Central Science · 2021 · 67 citations

  T cell memory.

  DOI

• Towards a Biomanufactory on Mars

  Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences · 2021 · 62 citations

  A crewed mission to and from Mars may include an exciting array of enabling biotechnologies that leverage inherent mass, power, and volume advantages over traditional abiotic approaches. In this perspective, we articulate the scientific and engineering goals and constraints, along with example systems, that guide the design of a surface biomanufactory. Extending past arguments for exploiting stand-alone elements of biology, we argue for an integrated biomanufacturing plant replete with modules f…

  DOI

• Charge-altering releasable transporters enhance mRNA delivery in vitro and exhibit in vivo tropism

  Nature Communications · 2023-11-01 · 49 citations

  articleOpen access

  The introduction of more effective and selective mRNA delivery systems is required for the advancement of many emerging biomedical technologies including the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines, immunotherapies for cancer and strategies for genome editing. While polymers and oligomers have served as promising mRNA delivery systems, their efficacy in hard-to-transfect cells such as primary T lymphocytes is often limited as is their cell and organ tropism. To address these problem…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Organ- and Cell-Selective Delivery of mRNA In Vivo Using Guanidinylated Serinol Charge-Altering Releasable Transporters

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2024-05-14 · 33 citations

  articleOpen access

  Selective RNA delivery is required for the broad implementation of RNA clinical applications, including prophylactic and therapeutic vaccinations, immunotherapies for cancer, and genome editing. Current polyanion delivery relies heavily on cationic amines, while cationic guanidinium systems have received limited attention due in part to their strong polyanion association, which impedes intracellular polyanion release. Here, we disclose a general solution to this problem in which cationic guanidi…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• New Approaches to Reversible Homogeneous Electrocatalysts

  NSF · $555k · 2016–2019

• Materials from High Molecular Weight Cyclic Polymers: Insights on Properties and Dynamics

  NSF · $353k · 2014–2018

• Can Catalysts Dance? Catalytic Choreography in Olefin Polymerization

  NSF · $567k · 2009–2012

Frequent coauthors

• James L. Hedrick

  IBM Research - Almaden

  189 shared

• Russell C. Pratt

  Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College

  92 shared

• Fredrik Nederberg

  Wilmington University

  74 shared

• Bas G. G. Lohmeijer

  BASF (Germany)

  68 shared

• Andrew P. Dove

  University of Birmingham

  55 shared

• Charles G. Wade

  Durham University

  51 shared

• Paul A. Wender

  Stanford University

  42 shared

• Alice P. Gast

  41 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Chemistry

  California Institute of Technology

  1987

• B.S. Mathematics, B.A. Chemistry

  Washington and Lee University

  1982

Similar researchers at Stanford University

• Carolyn Bertozzih-190
• Richard Zareh-139
• Steven Boxerh-99