Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
University of Maryland Professor of Veterinary Medicine Daniel C. Nelson has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction currently awarded to inventors in the U.S., and it is meant to recognize individuals whose patented innovations have made an enduring and profound economic and societal impact on the world.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to be named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. It is not only validation of my own efforts, but of the exceptional capabilities and efforts of the students, postdocs, and collaborators who contributed to these discoveries over many years,” said Nelson, who holds a joint appointment at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research at UMD where he leads the Laboratory of Antimicrobial Discovery.
Nelson is a microbiologist and protein engineer whose work focuses on understanding and engineering natural enzymes from viruses that kill bacteria. As a pioneering inventor, he helped establish a new class of antimicrobials, and his contributions have shaped an entire field, influencing how next-generation biologics are engineered. The novel antimicrobial therapies his work advances address one of the most urgent global health threats, antibiotic resistance.
The reach of his work spans multiple disciplines and sectors such as:
- Human health, through the development of biologics to treat multidrug-resistant infections and sepsis,
- Animal health, through veterinary diagnostics and therapeutics used in dairy and aquaculture industries,
- Public health and biodefense, through partnerships with NIH, DOD, and USDA for applications against high-concern pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis and Clostridioides difficile,
- Food safety and agriculture, through enzyme-based decontamination and microbial control platforms.
Nelson collaborates frequently with industry and in 2019 he co-founded ExoLytics, Inc., a biotechnology startup developing next-generation therapeutics from antibacterial enzymes.
Nelson holds 12 U.S. patents and over 10 additional patent filings, which have been licensed to three companies. As an example, one of his key patents describes a specially engineered enzyme that fuses two bacterial-cell-wall-cutting parts into one protein, giving it much stronger ability to kill bacteria, and another patent applies that to an enzyme that kills drug-resistant methicillin‑resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These patents are advancing through regulatory and commercial development in both human and animal health markets, exemplifying the successful translation of academic discovery into practical, real-world solutions.
Nelson has published over 85 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and is a regular reviewer for the U.S. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, USDA and international funding agencies.
He is a recipient of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Excellence in Research Award, the Faculty Research Award, and is a three-time finalist for the University’s Invention of the Year competition. Nelson is the first AGNR faculty member to be named a fellow of NAI.
A dedicated mentor and educator, Nelson has trained more than 80 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduates, and high school researchers. He has also contributed to innovation-focused undergraduate programs, including a FIRE research stream, the Gemstone Honors Program, and student-led spaceflight research.
With an M.B.A. and a focus on entrepreneurship, Dr. Nelson is dedicated to helping Ph.D. students in STEM fields bridge the gap between science and business literacy in order to translate their research into commercial and societal impact.
“Dr. Nelson’s leadership, translational insight, and commitment to education make him a vital contributor to the broader innovation ecosystem and an advocate for developing the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs,” said Xiaoping Zhu, chair of the Department of Veterinary Medicine at UMD.
As a new NAI Fellow, Nelson will join the ranks of 57 Nobel Laureates and 74 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science, among other highly distinguished leaders.
