East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, Tennessee, US

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Founded in 1911, it serves the Appalachian Highlands through comprehensive academics and an integrated academic health sciences center. The university is recognized for strengths in rural health, interprofessional education, and Appalachian studies.

East Tennessee State University conducts research across health sciences, public health, clinical and translational science, addiction science, and community‑engaged social and behavioral studies, alongside strong programs in education, computing, and the arts and sciences. Notable units include the Quillen College of Medicine, the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, and the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, as well as the Addiction Science Center and ETSU Health. The ETSU Research Corporation and the Innovation Lab support technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and regional industry collaboration. Research funding commonly comes from federal agencies such as the NIH, HRSA, CDC, and NSF, in addition to state and regional partners. Applied outcomes are focused on rural and telehealth delivery models, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, population health analytics, and community and workforce development in the Appalachian region.

Top industry applications

Halo’s AI pipeline combines publication data and faculty input to determine the industry applications with greatest concentration of publishing faculty. It then surfaces those with the strongest industry collaboration evidence.

Medicine

Oncology & cancer therapeutics

ETSU researchers are advancing next-generation cancer therapeutics, including bispecific antibody-drug conjugates, intra-tumoral oncolytic viruses, and novel small-molecule inhibitors targeting resistant solid and blood cancers. The university is also developing precision diagnostics—such as liquid biopsy assays for residual disease, rapid point-of-care leukemia mutation tests, and AI-driven pathology platforms—to guide real-time treatment decisions. Together, these innovations address urgent industry demand for effective immuno-oncology drugs and scalable monitoring solutions that improve patient outcomes.

Relevant Innovators

Qian Xie

Principal Investigator

Oncology & cancer therapeutics

Phillip R. Musich

Unclaimed

Oncology & cancer therapeutics

Kanishka Chakraborty

Unclaimed

Oncology & cancer therapeutics

Medicine

Infectious disease & antimicrobials

East Tennessee State University researchers are advancing novel solutions to the antimicrobial resistance crisis, from AI-identified broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides and glycan-based mRNA vaccine adjuvants to CRISPR-based therapies that disrupt HIV and HBV replication. Their applied work also translates to the clinic through antimicrobial stewardship diagnostics, novel surgical irrigants that cut prosthetic joint infections, and immunometabolic strategies that boost innate immunity in sepsis and aging populations. Together, these efforts target major market needs in vaccines, infectious disease therapeutics, and hospital-acquired infection prevention.

Relevant Innovators

Qian Huang

Principal Investigator

Infectious disease & antimicrobialsPharmaceuticals and drug delivery

Shunbin Ning

Immunology & immune-mediated diseaseInfectious disease & antimicrobials

David B. Cluck

Infectious disease & antimicrobials

Medicine

Cardiovascular health

ETSU scientists are advancing structural heart and neuromodulation solutions, generating real-world evidence on transcatheter valve procedures, mechanical circulatory support, and bioelectronic vagus nerve stimulation to manage heart failure and arrhythmias. Their translational pipeline develops cardioprotective biologics—such as exogenous ubiquitin and heat-shock protein modulators—and deploys deep learning to assess renal autoregulation and salt-sensitive hypertension. Through the Tennessee Heart Health Network, they scale quality improvement across rural Appalachia, cutting cardiovascular events while addressing stark regional disparities in care.

Relevant Innovators

Suman Dalal

Cardiovascular health

Doug Thewke

Principal Investigator

Cardiovascular health

Xiaohui Wang

Principal Investigator

Cardiovascular healthImmunology & immune-mediated diseaseInfectious disease & antimicrobialsPharmaceuticals and drug delivery

Cardiovascular healthImmunology & immune-mediated diseaseInfectious disease & antimicrobials

1 more

Medicine

Pharmaceuticals and drug delivery

East Tennessee State University researchers are engineering dissolvable microneedle patches for emergency opioid reversal, liposomal nanocarriers for combination breast cancer therapy, and magnetic microrobots for targeted GI delivery. They are advancing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates and radiopharmaceutical theranostics to sharpen tumor targeting and cut systemic toxicity. Supporting clinical translation, investigators are leveraging AI-driven pharmaceutical 3D printing and advanced formulation science to accelerate precision manufacturing and personalized dosing.

Relevant Innovators

Kevin Carroll

Principal Investigator

Pharmaceuticals and drug delivery

Ashana Puri

Principal Investigator

Pharmaceuticals and drug delivery

Justin Gass

Principal Investigator

Pharmaceuticals and drug delivery

Medicine

Immunology & immune-mediated disease

East Tennessee State University scientists are mapping neutrophil swarming, trained immunity, and sepsis-induced immunosuppression to fight drug-resistant infections and age-related immune decline. Their translational pipeline spans glycan-based mRNA vaccine adjuvants, CRISPR ribonucleoproteins that target HIV reservoirs, and intra-tumoral immunotherapies for gastrointestinal cancers. These programs harness innate immune memory and myeloid reprogramming to deliver next-generation immunomodulators and cellular therapies for infectious disease and oncology.

Relevant Innovators

Alex Hopke

Principal Investigator

Immunology & immune-mediated diseaseInfectious disease & antimicrobials

Xiao Y. Wu

Unclaimed

Immunology & immune-mediated diseaseInfectious disease & antimicrobials

Valentin P. Yakubenko

Unclaimed

Immunology & immune-mediated disease

Medicine

Medical diagnostics

ETSU researchers are building explainable AI and deep-learning frameworks to automate diagnosis of spinal disorders, prostate cancer, and carcinoma of unknown primary from standard medical imaging and pathology data. They are also advancing point-of-care molecular diagnostics—including cartridge-based leukemia mutation assays, urine mRNA tests for bladder cancer, and smartphone-connected neonatal jaundice and glaucoma screeners—for rapid, decentralized testing in rural settings. These converging technologies address critical gaps in early disease detection and clinical workflow efficiency with strong commercial potential.

Relevant Innovators

David L. Wood

Medical diagnosticsTelemedicine and remote care

Bracken Burns

Emergency medical solutionsMedical diagnostics

Shehenaz Shaik

Principal Investigator

Medical diagnosticsMedical imaging

Last updated by Halo AI Jun 28, 2026. Please verify key information.

OpenAlex

For general inquiries

Nicholas Hagemeier

Vice Provost for Research, East Tennessee State University

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Top industry applications

Oncology & cancer therapeuticsInfectious disease & antimicrobialsCardiovascular healthPharmaceuticals and drug deliveryImmunology & immune-mediated diseaseMedical diagnostics