The Core Center for Gene Therapy at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM) is under the direction of A. Dusty Miller, Ph.D. (Program Director), Affiliate Professor of Pathology and a Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Associate Program Director Bonnie W. Ramsey, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics. The Center brings together gene therapy research efforts at UWSM, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle, and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center, and includes close ties with the Cystic Fibrosis Research Program headed by Dr. Bonnie Ramsey, the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) headed by John Brunzell, M.D., and the Program of Excellence in Gene Therapy (PEGT) headed by George Stamatoyannopoulos, M.D., Dr.Sci. The Center will focus on three main areas of research: 1) development of viral vectors and procedures for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, 2) development of retroviral vectors for gene transfer and expression of therapeutic genes in hematopoietic and lymphoid cells in humans, and 3) development of methods to deliver circulating proteins such as erythropoietin and cytokines for treatment of human disease. A total of 52 investigators who receive over $27 million in independent external support will regularly use the core facilities and collaborate in development of gene therapy protocols. This work will be supported by an Administrative Component and seven other core facilities: Human Applications Core, three Vector Cores, Immunohistochemistry Core, Hematopoietic Cell Transduction Core, and Animal Core. In addition, the Pilot and Feasibility program will consist [sic] 2 projects which are directed towards gene therapy. The Pilot and Feasibility projects currently include: 1) New Helper-dependent Adenovirus Vectors Based on Serotype 11 for Stable Gene transfer into Airway Epithelial Cells; PI: Andre Lieber, MD, PhD; and 2) Foamy Virus Vectors for Gene therapy of rag1 and rag2 Deficiency of a Mouse Model of the Human Disease; PI: George Vassilopoulos, MD, PhD.
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