Roles and responsibilities
- Leader of the NRC's Molecular Modeling Team (Immunobiology Department, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre)
- Leader of NRC-funded projects on anti-COVID-19 biotherapeutics (NRC's National Programs Office)
- Member of the NRC's President Research Excellence Advisory Committee (2020-2023)
Current research and/or projects
With a strong background in bio, organic, and physical chemistry, I am an established computational chemist with over 25 years of experience and broad expertise in molecular modeling applied to (bio)pharmaceutical research; ranging from cheminformatics-based small-molecule lead discovery and optimization to structural bioinformatics-based computational biology, and from molecular simulations of protein-ligand complexes to engineering of therapeutic proteins and antibody humanization.
Research and/or project statements
- Studied a broad spectrum of molecular targets including cytosolic enzymes (with a focus on cysteine proteases), extracellular receptor domains (with a focus on growth factor receptors) and secreted proteins, from viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal, plant and mammalian origins.
- Deep interest in advancing the computational methods for biomolecular applications, being particularly active in the development of continuum solvation models and binding-affinity scoring functions for protein-ligand interactions.
- Active in applying computational structural modeling to the design of therapeutic proteins, which has led to intellectual property for various biologics including single-chain growth factor traps, improved antibodies with differential tumor/normal tissue targeting, and humanized antibodies.
- Contributions to the development of an in silico platform for de novo design and affinity maturation of therapeutic antibodies.
- Leading biotherapeutic discovery and development to fight COVID-19 infections and associated organ injuries.
Education
- Post-Doctorate, Molecular Modeling, NSERC, NRC Canada (1997)
- Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, West University of Timisoara, Romania (1995)
- M.Sc., Organic Chemistry, Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Romania (1993)
Professional activities/interests
- Adjunct Professor since 2012 with the Institute of Parasitology of McGill University, teaching graduate courses in Structural Bioinformatics (BTEC555, Winter) and Therapeutic Antibody Design (BTEC650, Fall)
- Instructor since 2017 with the Cambridge Healthtech Institute (USA), teaching training seminars and short courses at international events (PEGS Boston and PepTalk San Diego).
- Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, Molecular Biology Section, International Journal of Molecular Sciences since 2021.
Affiliations
Member of the American Chemical Society
Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, MDPI.
Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, Current Computer-Aided Drug Design, Bentham Science (2005-2009).
Awards
- 2022 NRC Outstanding Achievement Award – Protecting Our Clients
- 2020 NRC Intellectual Property Award – Impact
- 2020 NRC Outstanding Achievement Award – NRC’s Value for Canada
- 2018 NRC-HHT Excellence Award – NRC Values
- 2016 NRC Outstanding Achievement Award – Research & Technology Breakthrough
- 2009 NRC Outstanding Achievement Award – Industrial Partnership
- 2008 NRC-BRI Director General’s Award – Technology Transfer
- 2005 NRC-BRI Director General’s Award – Science
Inventions and patents
35. Sulea, Traian; Marcil, Anne; Jaramillo, Maria; Moreno, Maria; Wu, Cunle; et al. EGFRvIII-targeted compounds and uses thereof. PCT/CA2021/051360, filed 29-9-2021.
34. Sulea, Traian; Marcil, Anne; Jaramillo, Maria; Moreno, Maria; Wu, Cunle. Humanized anti-EGFRvIII antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof. PCT/IB2021/058954, filed 29-9-2021.
33. Sulea, Traian; Durocher, Yves. ACE2-receptor ectodomain fusion molecules and uses thereof. PCT/IB2022/050650, filed 25-1-2022. WO/2022/162533, published 4-8-2022.
32. Sulea, Traian; Zwaagstra, John; Baardsnes, Jason; Corbeil, Christopher; Jaramillo, Maria Luz; Purisima, Enrico; Rohani Larijani, Nazanin. Antibody variants with pH-dependent antigen binding for selective targeting of solid tumors. PCT/IB2020/053024, filed 30-3-2020. WO/2020/201992, published 8-10-2020.
31. Marcil, Anne; McComb, Scott; Weeratna, Risisni; Sulea, Traian; Jaramillo, Maria Luz; Wu, Cunle; Bloemberg, Darin. Anti-EGFRvIII antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof. PCT/CA2020/050378, filed 3-3-2020. WO/2020/191486, published 1-10-2020.
30. Marcil, Anne; Jaramillo, Maria Luz; Moreno; Maria, Sulea, Traian. Antigen-binding agents that specifically bind epidermal growth factor receptor variant III. PCT/CA2020/050376, filed 3-3-2020. WO/2020/191485, published 1-10-2020.
29. Smith, Benjamin A.; Lehmann, Andreas; Cameron, Thomas, O.; Pepinsky, R., Blake; Wen, D.; Farrington, Graham, K.; Raghunathan, Gopalan; Pederson, Nels, E.; Stanimirovic, Danica; Sulea, Traian; Haqqani, Arsalan, S. Humanized and stabilized FC5 variants for enhancement of blood brain barrier transport. PCT/US2019/058286, filed 28-10-2019. WO/2020/092202, published 7-5-2020.
28. Hussack, Gregory; Tanha, Jamshid; Henry, Kevin; Sulea, Traian. Serum albumin binding antibodies for tunable half-life extension of biologics. PCT/CA2019/050514, filed 24-4-2019. WO/2019/204925, published 31-10-2019.
27. Martina, Marzia; Chakravarthy, Balu; Durocher, Yves; Marcil, Anne; Arbabi Garhoudi, Mehdi; Sulea, Traian; Bandareli, Umberto; Moreno, Maria, Stanimirovic, Danica. Antibodies and antibody fragments against hNav1.7 channel and their use in pain and cancer indications. PCT/CA2019/050676, filed 17-5-2019. WO/2019/218082, published 21-11-2019.
26. Gilbert, Michel; Sulea, Traian; Jaramillo, Maria, L.; Durocher, Yves; Acchione, Maurizio. Antibody glycoconjugates and methods of production and use. PCT/CA2018/051410, filed 8-11-2018. WO/CA2019/090424, published 16-5-2019.
25. Sulea, Traian; Hussack, Greg; Tanha, Jamshid; Purisima, Enrico. Clostridium Difficile-specific antibodies and uses thereof. PCT/IB2018/055047, filed 9-7-2018. WO/2019/012406, published 17-1-2019.
24. Zwaagstra, John, C.; Sulea, Traian; Jaramillo, Maria; O’Connor, Maureen, D.; Lenferink, Anne, E.G. TGF-b-receptor ectodomain fusion molecules and uses thereof. PCT/IB2018/051320, filed 1-3-2018. WO/2018/158727, published 7-9-2018.
23. Moffett, Serge; Sulea, Traian. Anti-PSMA antibodies and uses thereof for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. PCT/IB2018/050644, filed 1-2-2018. WO/2018/142323, published 9-8-2018.
22. Stanimirovic, Danica; Sulea, Traian; Kemmerich, Kristin; Wilson, David; Stratton, Jennifer; Pollard, Matthew; Clarke, Adam. Antibody variants transmigrating the blood-brain barrier and uses thereof. PCT/IB2017/057844, filed 12-12-2017. WO/2018/109663, published 21-6-2018. US patent 11,906,973, issued 2-2-2021.
21. Hinck, Andrew P.; Sulea, Traian. Engineered TGF-beta monomers and their use for inhibiting TGF-beta signaling. PCT/US2017/062233, filed 17-11-2017. WO/2018/094173, published 24-5-2018. US patent 11,091,523, issued 17-8-2021.
20. Stanimirovic, Danica; Kemmerich, Kristin; Durocher, Yves; Sulea, Traian. Humanized antibodies transmigrating the blood-brain barrier and uses thereof. PCT/IB2017/054036, filed 4-7-2017. WO/2018/007950, published 11-1-2018. US patent 10,738,115, issued 11-08-2020.
19. Zwaagstra, John, C.; Sulea, Traian; Jaramillo, Maria; O’Connor, Maureen, D.; Lenferink, Anne, E.G. TGF-b-receptor ectodomain fusion molecules and uses thereof. PCT/IB2016/055204, filed 31-8-2016. WO/2017/037634, published 9-3-2017.
18. Tessier, Philippe; Tardif, Melanie; Sulea, Traian. Humanized anti-S100A9 antibody and uses thereof. PCT/CA2016/050810, filed 11-7-2016. WO/2017/008153, published 19-1-2017, US patent 11,359,010, issued 14-06-2022.
17. Stanimirovic, Danica; Kemmerich, Kristin; Haqqani, Arsalan S.; Sulea, Traian; Arbabi-Ghahroudi, Mehdi; Massie, Bernard; Gilbert, Rénald. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor-specific antibodies and uses thereof. PCT/CA2014/000862, filed 04-12-2014, WO/2015/131258, published 11-9-2015. US patent 10,100,117, issued 16-10-2018.
16. Stanimirovic, Danica; Kemmerich, Kristin; Haqqani, Arsalan S.; Sulea, Traian; Arbabi-Ghahroudi, Mehdi; Massie, Bernard; Gilbert, Rénald. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor-specific antibodies and uses thereof. PCT/CA2014/000861, filed 04-12-2014, WO/2015/131257, published 11-9-2015. US patent 10,112,998, issued 30-10-2018. European patent EP3114141, granted 6-5-2020.
15. Stanimirovic, Danica; Kemmerich, Kristin; Haqqani, Arsalan S.; Sulea, Traian; Arbabi-Ghahroudi, Mehdi; Massie, Bernard; Gilbert, Rénald. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor-specific antibodies and uses thereof. PCT/CA2014/000860, filed 04-12-2014, WO/2015/131256, published 11-9-2015. US patent 10,106,614, issued 23-10-2018. European patent EP3114140, granted 27-2-2019.
14. Stuible, Matthew; Tremblay, Gilles B.; Sulea, Traian; Moraitis, Anna N.; Filion, Mario. Anti-SIGLEC-15 antibodies. PCT/CA2013/000646, filed 17-7-2013. WO/2014/012165, published 23-1-2014. US patent 9,493,562, issued 15-11-2016. European patent EP2875051, granted 20-2-2019.
13. Brodt, Pnina; Massie, Bernard; Sulea, Traian. Soluble IGF receptor Fc fusion proteins and uses thereof. PCT/CA2012/050899, filed 14-12-2012. WO/2013/086636, published 20-6-2013. European patent EP2791338, granted 20-2-2019. US patent 10,538,575, issued 21-1-2020.
12. Tremblay, Gilles B.; Moraitis, Anna; Sulea, Traian; Filion, Mario. Antibodies against kidney associated antigen 1 and antigen binding fragments thereof. PCT/CA2012/000296, filed 28-3-2012. WO/2012/129668, published 4-10-2012. US patent 8,937,163, issued 20-1-2015, US patent 9,393,302, issued 19-7-2016. US patent 9,828,426, issued 28-11-2017. US patent 10,597,450, issued 24-3-2020. European patent EP2691421, granted 9-11-2016. Australian patent AU2012234754, granted 12-1-2017.
11. Tikhomirov, Ilia, A.; Jaramillo, Maria, L.; O’Connor-McCourt, Maureen, D.; Sulea, Traian; Gilbert, Renald; Gaillet, Bruno; Baardsnes, Jason; Banville, Myriam. Antibodies selective for cells presenting EGFR at high density. PCT/CA2012/050034, filed 20-1-2012. WO/2012/100346, published 2-8-2012. US patent 10,570,211, issued 25-2-2020.
10. Tikhomirov, Ilia, A.; Jaramillo, Maria, L.; O’Connor-McCourt, Maureen, D.; Sulea, Traian; Gilbert, Renald; Gaillet, Bruno; Baardsnes, Jason; Banville, Myriam. Antibodies selective for cells presenting erbB2 at high density. PCT/CA2011/050747, filed 2-12-2011. WO/2012/075581, published 14-6-2012. US patent 10,208,129, issued 19-2-2019.
9. Zwaagstra, John, C.; O'Connor-McCourt, Maureen, D.; Sulea, Traian; Collins, Catherine; Banville, Myriam. Covalently dimerized bivalent binding agents. PCT/CA2011/001306, filed 28-11-2011. WO/2012/071649, published 7-6-2012. US patent 8,987,417, issued 24-3-2015. European patent EP2646472, granted 30-8-2017.
8. Tremblay, Gilles B.; Filion, Mario; Sulea, Traian. Anti-clusterin antibodies and antigen binding fragments and their use to reduce tumor volume. PCT/CA2010/001882, filed 24-11-2010. WO/2011/063523, published 3-6-2011. US patent 8,802,866, issued 12-8-2014. US patent 9,512,211, issued 6-12-2016.
7. Tremblay, Gilles B.; Filion, Mario; Sulea, Traian. Antibodies that specifically block the biological activity of kidney associated antigen 1. PCT/CA2010/001795, filed 3-11-2010. WO/2011/054112, published 12-5-2011.
6. Tremblay, Gilles B.; Filion, Mario; Sulea, Traian. Antibodies that specifically block the biological activity of a tumor antigen. PCT/CA2009/001586, filed 3-11-2009. WO/2010/060186, published 3-6-2010. US patent 9,855,291, issued 2-1-2018.
5. O'Connor-McCourt, Maureen, D.; Sulea, Traian; Zwaagstra, John; Baardsnes, Jason; Collins, Catherine. Hetero-multivalent binding agents for members of the TGFb superfamily. PCT/CA2009/001293, filed 17-9-2009. WO/2010/031168, published 25-3-2010. US patent 8,658,135, issued 25-2-2014.
4. O'Connor-McCourt, Maureen, D.; Sulea, Traian; Zwaagstra, John; Baardsnes, Jason. Antagonists of ligands and uses thereof. PCT/CA2008/000547, filed 19-3-2008. WO/2008/113185, published 25-9-2008. US Patent 8,318,135, issued 27-11-2012. US Patent 8,574,548, issued 5-11-2013. US Patent 8,734,760, issued 27-5-2014. European patent EP2140005, granted 11-12-2013.
3. Lindner, Holger A.; Menard, Robert; Sulea, Traian. Variants of aminoacylase, nucleic acids coding same, and uses thereof. WO 04/113524. Filed 23-6-2004.
2. Sulea, Traian; Purisima, Enrico O.; Menard, Robert; Wang, Jing. Non-covalent inhibitors of cysteine proteases with a tripeptide backbone. WO 03/097664. Filed 15-5-2003.
1. Menard, Robert; Nagler, Dorit K.; Sulea, Traian. Development of an in vivo functional assay for proteases. US 10/462,645; CAN 2,432,676. Filed 17-6-2003.
Key publications
Sulea, T., Deprez, C.; Corbeil, C.R.; Purisima, E.O. Optimizing antibody-antigen binding affinities with the ADAPT platform. Methods Mol. Biol. 2552: 361-373 (2023).
Gaudreault, F.; Corbeil, C.R.; Purisima, E.O.; Sulea, T. Coevolved canonical loops conformations of single-domain antibodies: A tale of three pockets playing musical chairs. Front. Immunol. 13: 884132 (2022).
Wei, W.; Corbeil, C.R.; Gaudreault, F.; Deprez, C.; Purisima, E.O.; Sulea, T. Antibody mutations favoring pH-dependent binding in solid tumor microenvironments: Insights from large-scale structure-based calculations. Proteins 19: 1538-1546 (2022).
Sulea, T.; Baardsnes, J.; Stuible, M.; Rohani, N.; Tran, A.; Parat, M.; Cepero-Donates, Y.; Duchesne, M.; Plante, P.; Kour, G.; Durocher, Y. Structure-based dual affinity optimization of a SARS-CoV-1/2 cross-reactive single-domain antibody. PLoS One 17: e0266250 (2022).
Sulea, T. Humanization of camelid single-domain antibodies. Methods Mol. Biol. 2446: 299-312 (2022).
Sulea, T.; Rohani, N.; Baardsnes, J.; Corbeil, C.R.; Deprez, C.; Cepero-Donates, Y.; Robert, A.; Schrag J.D.; Parat, M.; Duchesne, M.; Jaramillo, M.L.; Purisima, E.O.; Zwaagstra, J.C. Structure-based engineering of pH-dependent antibody binding for selective targeting of solid-tumor microenvironment. MAbs 12: 1682866 (2020).
Schrag J.D.; Picard, M.-E.; Gaudreault, F.; Gagnon, L.-P.; Baardsnes, J.; Manenda, M.S.; Sheff, J.; Deprez, C.; Baptista, C.; Hogues, H.; Kelly, J.F.; Purisima, E.O.; Shi, R.; Sulea, T. Binding symmetry and surface flexibility mediate antibody self-association. MAbs 11: 1300-1318 (2019).
Hill, J.J.; Tremblay, T.-L.; Corbeil, C.R.; Purisima, E.O.; Sulea, T. An accurate TMT-based approach to quantify and model lysine susceptibility to conjugation via N-hydroxysuccinimide esters in a monoclonal antibody. Sci. Rep. 8: 17680 (2018).
Sulea, T.; Hussack, G.; Ryan, S.; Tanha, J.; Purisima, E.O. Application of Assisted Design of Antibody and Protein Therapeutics (ADAPT) improves efficacy of a Clostridium difficile toxin A single-domain antibody. Sci. Rep. 8: 260 (2018).
Sulea, T.; Vivcharuk, V.; Corbeil, C.R.; Deprez, C.; Purisima, E.O. Assessment of solvated interaction energy function for ranking antibody-antigen binding affinities. J. Chem. Inf. Model. 56: 1292-1303 (2016).
Sulea, T.; Purisima, E.O. The solvated interaction energy method for scoring binding affinities. Methods Mol. Biol. 819: 295-303 (2012).
Sulea, T.; Cui, Q.; Purisima, E.O. Solvated interaction energy (SIE) for scoring protein-ligand binding affinities. 2. Benchmark in the CSAR-2010 scoring exercise. J. Chem. Inf. Model. 51: 2066-2081 (2011).
Zhu, X.; Menard, R.; Sulea, T. High incidence of ubiquitin-like domains in human ubiquitin-specific proteases. Proteins 69: 1-7 (2007).
Sulea, T.; Lindner, H.A.; Purisima, E.O.; Menard, R. Deubiquitination, a new function of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus papain-like protease? J. Virol. 79: 4550-4551 (2005).
Sulea, T.; Purisima, E.O. Optimizing ligand charges for maximum binding affinity. A solvated interaction energy approach. J. Phys. Chem. B 105: 889-899 (2001).
Nagler, D.K.; Zhang, R.; Tam, W.; Sulea, T.; Purisima, E.O.; Menard, R. Human cathepsin X: A cysteine protease with unique carboxypeptidase activity. Biochemistry 38: 12648-12654 (1999).
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