Rate My Professor Paul Savage

His research in organic chemistry centers on mimicking innate immune defenses through the synthesis of cationic steroid antimicrobials (ceragenins), non-peptide analogs of host defense peptides that disrupt bacterial membranes and prevent biofilm formation on medical devices. Additional efforts explore glycolipid antigens that activate natural killer T cells for enhanced immune responses in carbohydrate vaccines against bacterial pathogens. This work has produced over 200 peer-reviewed publications and more than 50 U.S. patents. Key publications include "The biology of NKT cells" in Annual Review of Immunology (2007), "Exogenous and endogenous glycolipid antigens activate NKT cells during microbial infections" in Nature (2005), and "Lysosomal glycosphingolipid recognition by NKT cells" in Science (2004). Funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and corporate sponsors, his contributions have earned the Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen Faculty Excellence in Research Award (2010) and the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award (2021). Savage delivered BYU's Forum address in 2022 titled "It is a dangerous business, going into the laboratory," emphasizing the adventures of academic research.