ASGCT Selects First-Ever Career Development Grant Group, Awards $245,000 Total
MILWAUKEE (PRWEB) January 08, 2019 -- The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy’s (ASGCT) first class of 14 career development grant recipients were named by a selection committee made up of industry leaders identified by the ASGCT board of directors. In total, the Society will distribute $245,000.
The Career Development grants are mentored awards created to support ASGCT members designing transformative pilot studies in gene and cell therapy as they prepare to transition to independence. The Society was particularly interested in funding ideas that would be challenging to fund with normal mechanisms and helping applicants generate preliminary data to use in larger proposals (NIH K awards, first-submission R-level funding, etc.).
ASGCT’s 14 inaugural awardees are a diverse group from varied and wide-ranging specialties:
Ulrika Beitnere, Ph.D.—University of California Davis, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Realizing the dream of RNA-directed Therapies by Combinatorial Assessment of Cas13 Family Nucleases and AAV Delivery to the Brain
Diana X. Bharucha-Goebel, M.D.—Children’s National Health System and The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
A systematic clinical analysis of the immunologic effects of intrathecal AAV9 mediated gene transfer targeting the central nervous system
Lauriel F. Earley, Ph.D.—University of Chapel Hill – North Carolina, Gene Therapy Center, Department of Pediatrics
Development of a novel innate-immune evasive AAV-Pank2 vector for treatment of PKAN
Mohamed A. Hammad, Ph.D.—Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
A Novel Neural Stem Cell-Mediated Oncolytic Chimeric Pox Virotherapy for Stage III Ovarian Cancer
Geoffrey D. Keeler—University of Florida, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cellular & Molecular Therapy
Identifying optimal CD8 Treg for CAR Treg Therapy
Makan Khoshnejad Ph.D.—The Wistar Institute, The Vaccine Center
DNA-encoded Bispecific LDL Engager (BiLE) antibodies for treatment of hypercholesterolemia
Benjamin Kleinstiver, Ph.D.—Massachusetts General Hospital
Enhancing the Safety of CRISPR-Engineered T cells for Cancer Immunotherapy
Ami Patel, Ph.D.—The Wistar Institute, Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center
In vivo post-translational glycoengineering of plasmid DNA gene-encoded monoclonal antibodies
Nicole Paulk, Ph.D.—University of California San Francisco, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Characterizing the proteomic landscape of rAAV vectors for human liver gene therapies
Sandhya Sharma—Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
Generation of memory cell enriched, broad repertoire antigen specific T cells for EBV positive malignancies
Katie M. Stiles, Ph.D.—Weill Cornell Medical College, Genetic Medicine
Modification of AAV expression vectors to enhance translation
Lauren E. Woodard, Ph.D.—Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine
Treatment of acute kidney injury via in situ reprogramming
Mehmet E Yalvac, Ph.D.—The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Generation of motor neurons carrying ALS-associated KIF5A mutations from gene edited embyonic stem cells
Jiehua Zhou, Ph.D.—Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope National Medical Center
Targeting HIV-1 Reservoirs by Multi-specific Aptamers-based T cells Engager (MATE)
ASGCT is honored to have received such strong interest from its membership and congratulates this strongly-qualified group of awardees. The 2019 Career Development Grants program will begin accepting applications shortly after the 22nd ASGCT Annual Meeting, April 29 – May 2, held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
About ASGCT
The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy is the primary professional membership organization for scientists, physicians, patient advocates, and other professionals with interest in gene and cell therapy. Our members work in a wide range of settings including universities, hospitals, government agencies, foundations, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. ASGCT advances knowledge, awareness, and education leading to the discovery and clinical application of gene and cell therapies to alleviate human disease to benefit patients and society.
Alex Wendland, ASGCT, http://asgct.org, 414.278.1341, [email protected]
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