Co-op, Gene Therapy Immunogenicity

This application is for a 6-month student role from July - December 2025. Resume review begins in January 2025. The Gene Therapy Accelerator Unit (GTxAU)’s remit is to develop safe and efficacious gene therapies for patients with neurological and rare diseases. The Performance team within GTxAU supports this mission by evaluating viral and non-viral gene therapy attributes, their performance in vivo (biodistribution, expression) and immune responses following administration of gene therapies. Furthermore, we are focused on limiting undesirable immune responses to gene therapies to improve the safety and performance of gene therapies in the clinic.  Position Description In this position, you will partner with project teams to define scientific questions to generate testable immunogenicity mitigation strategies. You’ll be responsible for designing, executing and interpreting in vitro and in vivo experiments. You will record all protocols, data and conclusions in your electronic laboratory notebook and present results at internal meetings.   Example projects may include: Evaluation of plasmacytoid dendritic cell’s role in CD8+ T cell responses to AAV capsid In vivo testing of pharmacologic agents to prevent de novo antibody responses to AAV capsid Establish in vitro assays to interrogate innate immune responses to various LNP-mRNA gene therapies