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Team and Advisory Board

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About

Science

Team and Advisory Board

Contact

About

Science

Team and Advisory Board

Contact

Plastic Meets Biology

Developing engineered enzyme therapeutics to remove microplastics from humans implicated in cancer progression and metastasis

01 About

Founded in 2025, Elora Therapeutics is developing engineered enzyme therapeutics to remove microplastics from inside the human body, starting with PET microplastics implicated in cancer progression and metastasis.

Elora is building first-in-class enzyme therapeutics to address internal microplastics as a potential contributor to disease. Our initial focus is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), chosen for its prevalence, detectability in human tissues, and emerging relevance to cancer biology. Our patent-pending approach is designed to hydrolyze PET into smaller molecules that the body can clear through natural pathways.

We are advancing early validation studies to measure enzyme activity, PET degradation, target engagement, and biological response in human-relevant systems. Our first oncology focus is colorectal cancer, where PET-positive patients at elevated risk of progression or metastasis may provide a focused path for validation.

Over time, Elora plans to expand beyond PET into other high-burden polymers, including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), as the science and measurement tools mature.

02 Science

Our lead program targets PET microplastics with engineered enzymes designed for human physiology, with an initial oncology focus on cancer progression and metastasis-relevant biology.

Microplastics like PET are increasingly understood as bioactive particles, not inert contaminants. Once present in blood and tissues, micro- and nanoplastics may interact with cells, immune pathways, and tissue environments in ways relevant to inflammation, oxidative stress, cellular migration, immune dysfunction, and tumor progression. Human causation remains unproven, but the biology is now compelling enough to test whether removing microplastic burden can change disease-relevant signals.

Elora is developing systemically delivered enzyme therapeutics designed to degrade internal PET microplastics in vivo. Our PETase/MHETase-based approach is intended to break PET into smaller molecules, including terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, that can be measured and cleared through natural pathways.

Our near-term work is focused on validating enzyme activity in human-relevant biological conditions, including serum stability, PET degradation, degradation-product measurement, particle characterization, cytotoxicity, and early cancer-relevant readouts. For the oncology pivot, we are prioritizing colorectal cancer models that can test whether PET degradation affects migration, inflammation, immune signaling, and other progression-relevant biology.

The first goal is not to claim that microplastics cause cancer. The goal is to generate rigorous data on whether PET microplastic removal can reduce a targetable burden implicated in cancer progression and metastasis.

Elora’s long-term vision is to build a new therapeutic category: engineered enzyme medicines for microplastic-associated disease.

03 Team and Advisory Board

Paul Swartzendruber founded Elora Therapeutics to address one of the most overlooked threats to human health: microplastic accumulation in the body. With a background spanning early-stage product development and business, international policy, and now biotechnology commercialization, Paul brings a multidisciplinary lens to therapeutic innovation.
Prior to launching Elora, Paul served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, where he oversaw chemical and biological weapons issues. Earlier in his career, he held roles in marketing and product strategy at VRBO, led marketing at a tech startup acquired by a major media platform, and co-founded a consumer hardware company. This uncommon blend of technical curiosity, operational rigor, and public health focus laid the groundwork for Elora’s mission to develop first-in-class enzyme therapeutics for systemic microplastic degradation.
He holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, University of Maryland University College, and Harvard University.

Dr. Marc Deller is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Elora Therapeutics. He is a globally recognized leader in Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) and drug discovery, with over 20 years of experience across academia, biotech, and pharma. He is known for pioneering innovations in protein science, X-ray crystallography, Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM), and AI-driven SBDD.
Dr. Deller has held senior scientific roles at Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Stanford University, Scripps Research Institute, and Pfizer. There, he established and led automated structural biology platforms, managed multi-million-dollar research budgets, and mentored cross-functional teams in high-impact therapeutic programs involving cytokine-based receptor tyrosine kinase, cell surface receptors, antibodies, and small-molecule therapeutics.
His work has contributed to more than 6 oncology, virology, and immunology programs reaching FDA IND filings, and he has published over 60 manuscripts and 3 patents in the field of protein science and SBDD.
Marc completed his post-doctoral research at Yale University and received his PhD in Structural Biology from University of Oxford. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from University of Leeds.

Dr. Bryce Nicholls serves as a scientific advisor to Elora Therapeutics, contributing deep expertise in protein engineering, biocatalysis, and translational enzyme research. His guidance supports Elora’s strategy to develop safe, effective enzyme therapeutics capable of degrading microplastics in the human body.
Currently a Protein Engineering Test Engineer at Ginkgo Bioworks, Bryce brings hands-on experience advancing enzyme technologies for Fortune 500 clients. He has authored multiple peer-reviewed articles in leading journals including Nature Catalysis, Science, and Chemical Reviews, and was awarded Synlett’s “Paper of the Year” in 2022.
Bryce earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University, where he led the first known protein engineering campaign on a photoenzymatic reaction—work that resulted in several high-impact publications and the development of new screening methods for non-natural biocatalysts. He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University focused on polymer chemistry and peptide–polymer conjugation in collaboration with industry partners.
He also maintains a strong commitment to scientific education and equity, having taught college-level chemistry through the Cornell Prison Education Program and contributed to national conversations on inclusive pedagogy.

Shrishti Das serves as a scientific advisor to Elora Therapeutics, contributing deep expertise in analytical chemistry, the characterization of microplastics derived from diverse sources, and the interaction of microplastics with biological matrices. Her guidance supports Elora’s strategy to develop safe, effective enzyme therapeutics capable of degrading the wide range of microplastics encountered in the human body.
Currently a Ph.D. candidate and Presidential Merit Fellow at Columbia University, Shrishti conducts research in advancing polyolefin recycling by mitigating microplastic formation from processed polymers and restoring their bulk properties. Shrishti is the lead inventor of two patent-pending technologies in polymer upcycling and microplastic mitigation and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in leading scientific journals. She also holds a Master of Science from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Marine Science from UC San Diego.
Beyond her academic achievements, Shrishti has also contributed to translating complex waste management data into strategic national policy frameworks for multi-million-tonne waste streams.

Nilima or “Nili” serves as a strategic advisor to Elora Therapeutics, contributing deep expertise in global program management, medical product development, and cross-sector alliance building. Her advisory work at Elora draws on a unique blend of strategic insight, operational rigor, and a lifelong commitment to translating science into impact. With over 25 years of experience leading high-impact operations across biotech, government, and international health sectors, Nilima plays a key role in guiding Elora’s clinical development strategy and operational planning.
She has directed end-to-end development of vaccines and therapeutics from preclinical through clinical phases, with particular experience managing complex portfolios across private biotech companies, government contractors, and CMOs. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD), she led international, cross-functional teams supporting the development and oversight of medical countermeasure portfolios—including through Naval Advanced Medical Development (NAMD). Her track record includes building consensus across agencies and organizations to deliver results under highly regulated and high-stakes conditions.
Nilima earned her Master of Science in Cellular and Microbial Biology from The Catholic University of America, where she conducted research on enzyme activity in Plasmodium falciparum. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the College of St. Elizabeth.

04 Contact

If you are interested in scientific collaboration, media inquiry, or just want to learn more or say hello, we would love to hear from you.

To request information, please use the form below.

Elora Therapeutics, Inc.

5900 Balcones Dr, Ste 9059

Austin, Texas 78731

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