Optimising Gene Therapies for Acquired Retinal diseases
Recently the work by our scientific research team was selected for The Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR) early-career researcher symposium. This was held on 10 July at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland.
Dr Brenda Castro, Scientific Fellow, LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre presented a short talk on Breaking Boundaries in Regenerative Medicine and Developmental Biology.
The title of the presentation was “Optimising gene therapies for acquired retinal diseases – controlled expression and engineered capsids”.
In this presentation Brenda showed results of in vitro and ex-vivo assessment of the our proprietary vectors and constructs (this is the DNA that we put inside the vector and that carries the therapeutic property). These vectors and constructs were developed to achieve efficient and safe expression of multiple therapeutic genes, focusing on the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and ocular inflammation (uveitis).
The aim of the symposium was to promote Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and showcase the cutting-edge science produced by the new generation of researchers in Australia.
These meetings covered a wide array of topics from discovery to translational science including, but not limited to:
- Stem Cells and Disease Modelling
- Vector design and gene editing
- Cell and gene therapy strategies
- Regenerative medicine
- Organoids
- Spatial Transcriptomics
- Computational biology
- Developmental Biology
Please feel free to reach out if you would like more information on the presentation or to discuss further how you can get involved.