Cythera Bio is developing interaction-mediated technologies to mitigate the biological impact of microplastics and nanoplastics.

Our work focuses on understanding and reducing the interactions of microplastics and nanoplastics with biological systems, including approaches involving particle aggregation and sequestration as well as modulation of downstream biological and inflammatory pathways.
 

Cythera Bio is pursuing applications spanning wellness products and regulated therapeutic development. Initial therapeutic programs include neurobiology and neuroinflammation, with additional research addressing gastrointestinal and microbiome-mediated effects and other chronic inflammatory pathways associated with microplastic and nanoplastic exposure.
 

Our therapeutic discovery approach is mechanism-driven and modality-agnostic. By studying how microplastics and nanoplastics interact with biological systems and identifying the pathways they perturb, we aim to identify therapeutically actionable mechanisms and develop interventions appropriate to the underlying biology.
 

Leadership

Melinda B. Chu, M.D., M.B.A. — Founder & CEO

Melinda B. Chu, M.D., M.B.A. is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, and inventor with extensive experience translating scientific concepts into practical technologies.

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Dr. Chu is a graduate of Princeton University and received her M.D. from Saint Louis University and Executive M.B.A. from Washington University’s Olin Business School. She has led more than 14 pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials and investigator-initiated studies, providing extensive experience in experimental design, clinical research, regulatory strategy, and translational development.

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She is an inventor on multiple patent families and has authored more than 50 technical papers spanning microplastic and nanoplastic science, environmental monitoring, water intelligence, exposure-related technologies, biological systems, and translational research.
 

At Cythera Bio, Dr. Chu leads the development of the company’s scientific and intellectual-property strategy, including technologies designed to alter particle interactions with biological systems and therapeutic programs investigating biological pathways associated with microplastic and nanoplastic exposure.
 

Ryan Logan, Ph.D. — Co-Founder

Ryan Logan, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology and Vice Chair of Translational Research at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Maine and completed postdoctoral training at Rutgers University, The Jackson Laboratory, and the University of Pittsburgh, spanning immunology, bioinformatics, and molecular neuroscience. He previously held faculty positions in Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and Pharmacology at Boston University.
 

Dr. Logan's research centers on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying human disease, integrating functional genomics, transcriptomics, computational biology, human postmortem brain multi-omics, and iPSC-derived human neurons.
 

At Cythera Bio, Dr. Logan supports the company’s neurobiology program, one of Cythera Bio’s first regulated therapeutic development programs. His expertise in human cellular models, patient-derived neurons, brain organoids, functional genomics, and translational neuroscience supports the investigation of neuroinflammatory and related biological effects of microplastic and nanoplastic exposure and the evaluation of potential therapeutic approaches.
 

Building a New Therapeutic Framework for Microplastic and Nanoplastic Exposure

Cythera Bio is exploring a fundamental question: Can the biological consequences of microplastic and nanoplastic exposure be reduced by changing particle interactions and intervening in the biological pathways those particles affect?
 

Rather than limiting development to a single therapeutic modality or mechanism, Cythera Bio is building a platform for identifying biologically meaningful particle-mediated pathways and translating those findings into potential interventions.
 

The company is actively exploring scientific, pharmaceutical, wellness, and strategic partnerships to advance this work.