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Dr. Deidra JH Mountain Receives NSF STTR Phase II Award to Advance Targeted RNA Therapies for Vascular Disease

From left to right: Dr. Trey Fisher and Dr. Deidra Mountain

Deidra JH Mountain, PhD, Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Knoxville, has received a National Science Foundation Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II award to support development of a novel RNA drug delivery platform for vascular disease. The two-year, $1.25 million award was granted on September 15, 2025, to Orion Therapeutics, Inc., in partnership with UTHSC COM-Knoxville.

The project, Multifunctional Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery System for Targeted Delivery of Vascular RNA Therapeutics, builds on successful Phase I research that demonstrated targeted delivery of therapeutic RNA to injured vascular tissue. The Phase II effort will further develop Orion's GENESYS™ platform, a noncationic lipid nanoparticle system designed to safely deliver RNA therapeutics to specific tissues. Research will focus on improving treatment efficacy for intimal hyperplasia, a leading cause of failure following vascular interventions, while also advancing manufacturing processes needed for future clinical translation. The team will also expand the platform to explore cardiovascular protection following myocardial infarction.

Mountain serves as co-principal investigator alongside Richard Fisher, PhD, of Orion Therapeutics. At UTHSC COM-Knoxville, she directs the Vascular Research Laboratory, where her work centers on understanding and preventing vascular injury and restenosis through targeted drug delivery strategies.

"This NSF STTR Phase II award is a significant milestone for the GENESYS platform, an RNA delivery technology invented here in our laboratory at UTCOM-Knoxville. The funding not only provides the resources needed to advance the GENESYS platform beyond the laboratory toward real-world clinical application, but it also underscores the platform's potential to have a meaningful impact on the field of RNA therapeutics in a variety of disease applications. This is a critical step in bridging research innovation and commercialization through our partnership with Orion Therapeutics," said Dr. Mountain.

The NSF STTR program supports collaborations between academic institutions and small businesses to move promising research toward real-world applications. This Phase II award highlights the impact of UTHSC COM-Knoxville's translational research and its role in advancing innovative therapies for peripheral vascular and cardiovascular diseases.

Posted January 14, 2026