WATCH: Advanced Therapeutics Webinar Series 9: The growing demand for viral vectors as a cutting-edge health treatment

16 March 2023
Webinar series

Advanced Therapeutics: The growing demand for viral vectors as a cutting-edge health treatment

In our next webinar we will be taking a deeper look at viral vectors and the subsequent explosion of therapeutic possibilities. These key components of gene therapies for rare genetic diseases and cell therapies for cancer are now in growing demand for use in both research and clinical trials, in Australia and globally.

In the 9th instalment of the series, the experts will go through everything we need to know about viral vectors, including what vectors are used for different disease indications, the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as opposed to other vectors, viral shredding for gene therapy patients and antibody titre testing in the context of patient eligibility assessment.

Speaker profiles:
 

Dr Grant Logan

 

Dr Grant Logan is a senior scientist in the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) with academic and industry experience in the design, production and application of viral systems for gene transfer, particularly those derived from adeno-associated virus (AAV). With more than 30 (co)-authored publications, his research focuses on the liver as a clinical target for correction of genetic disease, but he also seeks to convert the organ into a biofactory for output of therapeutic proteins.

He has a strong interest in understanding the immune response to AAV, including the effects of pre-existing immunity to limit gene transfer, and AAV vector use to therapeutically modulate the immune system. Grant has also worked in the fields of human and environmental virology and currently sits on the Gene Therapy Technical Advisory Committee to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.

Dr Samantha Ginn

 

Dr Samantha Ginn received her PhD in bacterial genetics and since then has been working in the field of gene therapy at the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) under the mentorship of Professor Ian Alexander. Dr Ginn was a key team member involved in treating an infant with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, the first infant in Australia to be treated with gene therapy.

She has extensive experience in the use of viral-based gene delivery systems and humanised animal models. Her current research focuses on developing genome editing-based approaches to treat severe genetic disease in infants and children using novel bioengineered recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene delivery. She currently holds leadership positions in the Australasian Gene and Cell Therapy Society and Asia-Pacific Consortium of Gene and Cell Therapy, is the current Chair of the Westmead Research Hub EMCR Committee, and is an Editorial Board member for the Journal of Gene Medicine.

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