About

Carly Baehr, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota. She received her B.S. with a double major in Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2011. Her graduate work in Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the Mayo Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences focused on the regulation of DNA damage repair in response to antimetabolites in cancer chemotherapy. Her postdoctoral research, supported by the PharmacoNeuroImmunology program at the University of Minnesota, concentrated on vaccines and monoclonal antibodies against opioids in the laboratory of Dr. Marco Pravetoni. Currently, she collaborates with Drs. Pravetoni and Michael Raleigh to develop murine and humanized anti-fentanyl monoclonal antibodies and to isolate antibodies against other drugs of abuse and toxic compounds. Her research emphasizes elucidating the pharmacology of anti-fentanyl monoclonal antibodies for reversing fentanyl overdose, as well as their application in rapid detection of target molecules. Her work aims to advance the understanding and development of monoclonal antibody-based strategies to combat drug abuse and overdose.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Pharmacology

Selected publications

• Alternative reinforcement reduces oxycodone self-administration in male and female monkeys: Implications for treating opioid use disorder

  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics · 2026-02-03

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A humanized monoclonal antibody attenuates carfentanil self-administration in nonhuman primates

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports · 2025-07-22 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Approximately 70% of fatal drug overdoses in the United States are attributed to fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. Current medications for reversing overdose and treating opioid use disorder might not be as effective against fentanyl and fentanyl analogs compared with other opioids, possibly due to their lipophilicity and high potency at the mu -opioid receptor (MOR). Hence, fentanyl and fentanyl analog-targeting monoclonal antibodies (mAb) could be an alternative treatment. The humanized (h) mAb hHY6-F9 has high relative affinity for fentanyl and decreases intravenous (i.v.) fentanyl self-administration in monkeys. hHY6-F9 has lower affinity for fentanyl analogs, including carfentanil; however, the effects of hHY6-F9 on fentanyl analogs in vivo have not been characterized. This study examined the effects of hHY6-F9 on i.v. carfentanil self-administration. hHY6-F9 was administered to two male rhesus monkeys self-administering carfentanil, heroin, cocaine, or fentanyl during twice daily sessions. Based on prior in vitro and in vivo findings, hHY6-F9 was hypothesized to attenuate fentanyl but not carfentanil, heroin, or cocaine self-administration. However, hHY6-F9 significantly decreased carfentanil self-administration for up to 5 weeks while having little or no effect on heroin, cocaine, or fentanyl self-administration. A cell-based pharmacological assay of carfentanil-induced MOR activation supported the carfentanil self-administration findings, showing that murine HY6-F9 reduced the effects of carfentanil. The ability of hHY6-F9 to attenuate the effects of an ultra-potent fentanyl analog could be advantageous for treating opioid use disorder or overdose given the unpredictability of the unregulated opioid supply. • A humanized mAb reduced carfentanil self-administration in nonhuman primates • The effects of a single administration of the mAb were evident for 5-6 weeks • The mAb reduced mu -opioid receptor activation by carfentanil in a cell-based assay

  PublisherDOI

• A humanized monoclonal antibody attenuates fentanyl self-administration and reverses and prevents fentanyl-induced ventilatory depression in rhesus monkeys

  Psychopharmacology · 2025-02-05 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Bivalent Hapten Display Strategies for Conjugate Vaccines Targeting Opioid Mixtures Containing Fentanyl

  Bioconjugate Chemistry · 2025-03-17

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Increasingly, street mixtures of opioids are reported to contain combinations of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl with fentanyl analogues or counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. While antiopioid immunotherapeutics have been investigated as a possible approach to address the opioid epidemic, the efficacy of vaccines and antibodies is limited to specific target opioids, based on the chemical structure of the haptens used in vaccines. Hence, there is a need for rational design of antiopioid conjugate vaccines that simultaneously target multiple opioids. Here, four novel haptens were synthesized, which were designed to elicit antibodies capable of binding to fentanyl other target opioids, including carfentanil, alfentanil, or oxycodone. Haptens were conjugated to CRM carrier protein and formulated with an aluminum salt adjuvant, and vaccines containing bivalent haptens were compared to admixtures of individual conjugate vaccines targeting the two opioids separately. Rats were immunized with monovalent, admixed, or novel bivalent vaccines, and the blockade of opioid effects was assessed against the individual drugs and their mixtures. Opioid-specific antibody titer was measured, and in vivo effects of vaccines were assessed in terms of preventing opioid-induced antinociception and respiratory depression and opioid distribution to the brain. While the bivalent vaccines reduced the effects of some target opioids, the admixed vaccine formulations were more effective against fentanyl/carfentanil and fentanyl/alfentanil mixtures. The bivalent fentanyl/oxycodone vaccine was as effective as the monovalent vaccines against a single drug challenge. These results inform the design of future vaccines against opioids and other drugs, particularly in the context of vaccines against polysubstance use that require optimization of response against multiple drugs of interest.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In vitro biophysical and pharmacological profiling predicts in vivo efficacy of anti-carfentanil monoclonal antibodies in mice

  Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · 2025-05-10 · 1 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• The effects of buprenorphine on fentanyl-induced respiratory depression in rats

  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics · 2025-11-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Characterization of a pig model for critical respiratory depression induced by opioid overdose

  Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Administration of an Anti-Fentanyl Single Chain Variable Fragment Reverses Fentanyl-Induced Bradycardia in Male BALB/c Mice (Abstract ID: 169813)

  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics · 2025-03-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Selective Modulation of the Reinforcing Effects of Fentanyl by a Monoclonal Antibody in Rhesus Monkeys

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2025-02-01

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  PublisherDOI

• An antifentanyl monoclonal antibody reverses fentanyl-induced apnea in pigs

  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics · 2025-10-10

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Marco Pravetoni

  University of Minnesota

  80 shared

• Sujata G. Pandit

  University of Nevada, Reno

  25 shared

• David P. AuCoin

  University of Nevada, Reno

  25 shared

• Dustin Hicks

  University of Minnesota Medical Center

  18 shared

• Mariah M. Wu

  University of Minnesota Medical Center

  17 shared

• Aaron Khaimraj

  University of Minnesota

  17 shared

• Jose Arias-Umana

  University of Pennsylvania

  16 shared

• Saadyah Averick

  Allegheny Health Network

  15 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

  Mayo Graduate School

  2017

• B.S., Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

  Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

  2011