# Elliot Chaikof, M.D., Ph.D. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Medical School Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering ![Headshot of Elliot Chaikof](/sites/g/files/omnuum10026/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2025-09/Elliott%20Chaikof.png?itok=BkmreGy7) email laptop\_windows [Chaikof Lab](http://chaikoflab.org/) laptop\_windows [Elliot Chaikof publications](https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/92440) **Research Description** We seek to elucidate mechanisms of disease and develop novel therapeutics through understanding underlying processes of innate and adaptive immunity that cause disease or are responsible for organ repair and regeneration. The major areas of interest of our research group include: **Modulators of Innate Immunity and Tissue Repair.** Numerous diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurological diseases, are associated with compromised gut barrier function and microbial dysbiosis. The gut's innate immune system plays a pivotal role in maintaining tissue integrity, fostering epithelial repair, and ensuring microbial balance. Key players in this process include tissue-resident Th17 cells, which induce protective antibodies; innate lymphoid cells, which bolster intestinal stem cell renewal; and γδ T cells, which facilitate tissue repair and mitigate inflammatory responses. At the heart of these processes are transcription factors, which, through complex interactions with partner proteins, regulate immune cell phenotypes and tissue repair mechanisms. Our research aims to unravel these intricate protein-protein interactions, enhancing our understanding and leading to the development of novel small molecule therapeutics aimed at modulating immune responses to promote gut tissue integrity. **Protein-based Nanoparticles for Cytosolic Delivery of Nucleic Acids and Proteins.** The transformative potential of genome editing in medicine is hindered by challenges in delivering editing tools to target cells in vivo. Current methods, including viral vectors and lipid nanoparticles, face limitations such as immunogenicity, off-target effects, and lack of cell-type specificity. To overcome these obstacles, we are developing recombinant protein nanoparticles tailored for cell-specific targeting. These novel delivery systems aim to enhance the efficiency and safety of delivering genome editors, RNA therapeutics, and other biomacromolecules, paving the way for more precise and targeted therapeutic interventions for the treatment of a variety of inherited genetic diseases, as well as the design of cancer vaccines. **Cell and Tissue Engineering for Regenerative Medicine.** The field of regenerative medicine seeks to overcome current limitations in tissue engineering and cell therapies, particularly the challenges posed by allogeneic cell sources and the need for lifelong immunosuppression. Our research explores the potential of autologous iPSC-derived cells and multiplex genome editing to minimize immune rejection and enhance tissue and cell therapy functions. In parallel, we are innovating in additive manufacturing technologies to expedite organ fabrication, aiming for improved tissue architecture and functionality. By delving into the immune system's role and identifying genetic targets for improving transplantation success, our work seeks to lay the foundation for next-generation regenerative therapies. **Clinically Relevant Protein-Glycan Interactions.** Glycans, complex sugar-based biomolecules, are essential for a wide array of biological functions, including cell-cell recognition and immune response modulation. They are critical for identifying pathogens, assessing cell health, and guiding immune responses to injury and tissue repair. Despite the pivotal role of glycan-protein interactions in these processes, the therapeutic potential of targeting these interactions remains underexplored. Our research focuses on elucidating the roles of glycan-protein interactions in innate immunity, thrombosis, and anti-tumor immunity. By developing innovative tools and identifying molecules that can target these interactions, we aim to pioneer new therapeutic strategies. **Biosketch** Elliot L. Chaikof, M.D., Ph.D., is Chair of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Johnson and Johnson Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chaikof is a member of Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering of Harvard University, the Broad Institute and holds a faculty appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology where he **serves as the primary thesis advisor for PhD and MD-PhD students** in the **Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (HST)** and **Biomedical and Biological Sciences** programs. Dr. Chaikof is a member of the **Executive Leadership Committee for the Harvard Medical School MD-PhD Program**. Dr. Chaikof received his B.A. and M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his training in General Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital and in Vascular Surgery at Emory University and served on the faculty at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology for 20 years following the completion of his training, the last 10 of which he served as the John E. Skandalakis Professor and Chief of Vascular Surgery. **Dr. Chaikof’s clinical interests** focus on the surgical treatment of vascular disease. He has been involved in clinical trials of tissue engineered products, gene therapy, new biologics, small molecule drugs, and a variety of medical devices. In 1994, he initiated one of the first programs for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair in the United States and was among the core group of principal investigators that conducted the first FDA approved clinical trials of stent-grafts for repair of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms. Dr. Chaikof was responsible for the formulation of clinical trial reporting standards for evaluating the performance of stent-grafts for the treatment of aortic aneurysms, which continues to provide regulatory guidance to the medical device industry, investigators, and the FDA. Dr. Chaikof has also been responsible for the development of national ‘best practice’ guidelines that have established the standards of care for patients with an aortic aneurysm. Dr. Chaikof is Editor of one of the leading textbook in the field, the *Atlas of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy*, published by Elsevier, with translations in Chinese and Portuguese - and featured on ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’ (Season 1, Episode 16, March 12, 2018). **Dr. Chaikof’s basic and translational research interests** lie at the interface of medicine, chemistry, and engineering. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, and more than two dozen pending and issued patents. He was the recipient of the 2013 Clemson Award for Applied Research from the Society for Biomaterials and the 2019 Flance-Karl Award for seminal contributions in basic and translational research from the American Surgical Association. In 2016, Dr. Chaikof was one of two principal scientific co-founders of Silicon Therapeutics, an early leader in the integration of computational methods in drug discovery, which led to multiple drugs under preclinical development or in clinical trials at the time of its acquisition by Roivant Sciences (NASDAQ: ROIV) in 2021. Dr. Chaikof recently served as Chair of Section 1 (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computational/Information Sciences, and Engineering Sciences) and founding Co-Chair of the Health and Technology Interest Group of the **National Academy of Medicine** (NAM). He also served on the Committee on Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation (CESTI) and is engaged in the Technology Assessment Working Group of the Action Collaborative on Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation (ACT-ESTI) for the NAM. **On behalf of the National Academies**, Dr. Chaikof co-chaired the Roundtable on Biomedical Engineering Materials and Applications (BEMA) and served as a member of the Standing Committee of Biotechnology and National Security Needs. He currently serves as a member of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board (NMMB), as well as the Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology in support of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology for the U.S. Government. Dr. Chaikof has served on multiple classified panels for the National Academy Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board (ARLTAB). Dr. Chaikof was the recipient of the **Harvard Medical School Class of 2020 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award**. The BIDMC Department of Surgery was recognized with the 2020 Culture of Excellence in Mentoring Award and the 2021 Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Group Award, both from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chaikof was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2025. Dr. Chaikof is the parent of two children with Usher Syndrome, the leading cause of inherited deaf-blindness. In 2013, he founded and currently serves as Vice-President of the **Usher 1F Collaborative** (usher1F.org), a patient-led (501c3) organization that has developed a collaborative research network in partnership with clinicians and scientists. The Usher 1F Collaborative is a member organization of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) ‘Rare As One Network’. The Collaborative has raised over $10M in philanthropic contributions in support of the development of zebrafish and mouse disease models with 6 gene therapies and 3 drug therapies undergoing pre-clinical evaluation. In partnership with Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Jaeb Center for Health Research, the Collaborative has initiated a ten-center international natural history clinical trial of individuals affected by Usher 1F across centers in the US, Europe, and Israel (Rate of Progression of PCDH15-Related Retinal Degeneration in Usher Syndrome 1F (RUSH1F); NCT04765345). ### Feature story - [The next decade in science](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/01/wyss-researchers-predict-biggest-scientific-advances-of-2020s/) - [20ish Questions with Elliot Chaikof](https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20ish-questions-with-elliot-chaikof/) - [Feyisayo (Sayo) Eweje on Helping Gene Therapies ENTER The Right Cells](https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-feyisayo-sayo-eweje-on-helping-gene-therapies-enter-the-right-cells/) - [ENTERing a new era of drug delivery](https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/entering-a-new-era-of-drug-delivery/) - ## Clinician-Scientist [In the Clinic](/clinician-scientists/clinician-scientist) - ## Research Interest(s) [Bioengineering](/research-interests/bioengineering) - ## HSCI Status [Principal Faculty](/executive-committee/principal-faculty) - ## Affiliation(s) [Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center](/affiliations/beth-israel-deaconess-medical-center) [Harvard Medical School](/affiliations/harvard-medical-school-department-genetics) [Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering](/affiliations/wyss-institute-biologically-inspired-engineering) - ## Year [2020](/year/2020)