David Schaffer, a faculty scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB), has been selected as a Bakar Fellow for his work engineering cells to increase the production of viral vectors that can deliver genes into patients. In particular, delivery vehicles (vectors) based on the adeno-associated virus (AAV) have achieved success in clinical trials for rare diseases including hemophilia. But AAV is difficult to produce in sufficient quantity to bring gene therapy into routine clinical use. Schaffer, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley, is working to engineer cells for enhanced AAV vector production. With the support of the Bakar Fellows Program, he will work to create virus-producing cell lines that can generate many-fold higher levels of AAV vector than the current industry standard. Read the Berkeley News article to learn more about the award and his research.
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