Dr. Gerald Gleich, a University of Utah professor and co-founder of NexEos Bio, has received the Life Sciences Pennsylvania Scientific Achievement Award for his decades-long research into eosinophils and their impacts on the human body.

Gleich started researching this blood cell around 1968, and his research has since resulted in numerous discoveries, several new syndromes, treatment methods for eosinophil related disorders and the formation of NexEos Bio, a company based in Philadelphia that is focused on better understanding inflammation caused by eosinophils.

In 1968, not much research had been conducted into eosinophils, and Gleich said originally many believed eosinophils helped “clean up the mess that other cells had made.” However, Gleich and his team discovered the opposite to be true; a protein in eosinophils was actually toxic and caused damage after being deposited in many diseases. “This set the stage for the development of these new treatments.”

NexEos Bio Executive Chairman and CEO Steve Tullman called Gleich an “incredible teacher and well-respected gentleman with wonderful energy.”

“He is always willing to help anyone interested to understand even the most complex aspects of science and does so with incredible clarity and eloquence. He will frequently comment on how much fun work is, and he totally means it,” Tullman said. “His research has benefited thousands of people who will never know that it was Jerry’s intellect and drive that positively impacted their lives.”