Dr Eve Miller-Hodges 

Dr Eve Miller-Hodges is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and adult physician for the Scottish Inherited Metabolic Disorders Service and at Edinburgh Transplant Centre and Renal unit. She has a particular interest in lysosomal storage disorders. Her research interests include large molecule drug development, and cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk prediction, particularly in special groups, including kidney disease and kidney transplantation.  She is part of the Edinburgh Kidney research group, bringing together researchers and patients across Edinburgh to facilitate collaborations across multiple disciplines. 

AI protein engineering to design effective ERTs

Enzyme Replacement Therapies (ERTs) have been available for many years for the treatment of specific lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). Many ERTS have been transformative treatments. However, their use is curtailed by limited bioavailability, immunogenicity and high cost, and some LSDs have no treatments at all. Frequency of  infusions and infusion-related-reactions convey a significant treatment burden to patients. We use AI-driven protein engineering to design de-immunized and highly potent enzyme replacement therapies, using a high-throughput screening and production workflow to screen hundreds of potential candidates in vitro, before validating in vivo. This aims to design more effective enzymes, allowing for reduced dosing, which are less immunogenic. Importantly, this platform is disease agnostic, with the potential to rapidly design multiple different enzymes in a much more cost-effective manner.