John R. Clegg

Assistant Professor

Email: clegg@ou.edu
Phone: (405) 325-5318
Office: SRTC 2069

Education
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Harvard University and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Ph.D., 2019, Biomedical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
M.A., 2018, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
Univerisity of Texas at Austin
M.S.E., 2016, Biomedical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
B.S., 2014, Biomedical Engineering
University of South Carolina, Columbia.

Research Focus

The Neuro-Immuno-Engineering Collective (Clegg Lab) explores hydrogel and innate immune cell-based therapeutics for the treatment of neurological diseases and brain injury. We synthesize drug delivery vehicles and produce new combination products with hydrogels and cell therapeutics. We evaluate new drug delivery systems and combination products using biomimetic tissue devices (i.e. engineered biological barriers or organs on chips) and rodent disease models. Our current efforts are focused in the following areas:

Nanoscale hydrogel drug carriers for immunotherapy applications.
Brain-inspired hydrogels as injectable dosage forms for local delivery to the Central Nervous System (CNS).
Mechanisms of intrinsic nanoparticle activity to immune cells.
CNS tissue models based on 3D printing of novel bio-inks or microfluidic device fabrication.
Translation of drug delivery systems to treat injury-induced or chronic neuro-inflammation.
Delivery systems for primary or metastatic brain tumors.

Selected Publications

Nakajima M., Kapate N., Clegg JR*., Ikeda-Imafuku M., Park KS., Kumbhojkar N., Chandran Suja V., Prakash S., Wang LLW., Tabeta K., Mitragotri S. (2025). Backpack-carrying macrophage immunotherapy for periodontitis. Journal of Controlled Release. 377, 315-323.
Clegg JR*, Adebowale K, Zhao Z, Mitragotri S. (2024) Hydrogels in the clinic: An Update. Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, e10680.
Wang L.L.W., Gao Y., Chandran Suja, V., Boucher M., Shaha S., Kapate N., Liao R., Sun T., Prakash S., Clegg J., Warren K., Janes M., Park KS., Ilelaboye B., Lu, A., Darko S., Jaimes C., Mannix R., Dunne M., Mitragotri S. (2024). Preclinical characterization of macrophage-adhering gadolinium micropatches for MRI contrast after traumatic brain injury in pigs. Science Translational Medicine. 16(728), eadk5413.
Ajeeb R, Clegg JR*. (2023) Intrathecal delivery of macromolecules: Clinical status and emerging technologies. Adv. Drug Delivery Reviews. 199, 114949.
Kapate, N., Dunne, M., Kumbhojkar, N., Prakash, S., Wang, L.L.W., Graveline, A., Park, K.S., Chandran Suja, V., Goyal, J., Clegg, J.R. and Mitragotri, S., (2023). A backpack-based myeloid cell therapy for multiple sclerosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(17), p.e2221535120.
Seaberg J, Clegg JR, Bhattacharya R, Mukherjee P. (2023). Self-therapeutic nanomaterials: Applications in biology and medicine. Materials Today. 62, 190-224.
Clegg J.R., Irani A.S., Ander E.W, Ludolph C.M., Venkataraman A.K., Zhong J.X., & Peppas N.A. (2019) Synthetic Networks with Tunable Responsiveness, Biodegradation, and Molecular Recognition, for Precision Medicine Applications. Science Advances. eaax7946.