Editorial Advisory Board
Editorial Advisory Board
Yupeng Chen
Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut
Dr. Yupeng Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. Holding both an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and chemistry from Brown University, Dr. Chen's long-term research interest lies in the design and development of DNA-inspired Janus base nanomaterials for regenerative engineering applications. He holds 11 US patents and 14 international patents in Janus base nanotechnology, some of which have been successfully licensed to industry partners. Dr. Chen has authored one book, ten book chapters, and 110 peer-reviewed publications, and he and his lab have delivered 127 conference presentations and invited talks. His achievements have been recognized with the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from NSF, the discovery award from DOD, and the grand prize in the New Investigator Recognition Awards from the Orthopaedic Research Society—where he was the top winner among 545 international candidates. Elected as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) in recognition of his efforts to translate scientific breakthroughs into practical applications, Dr. Chen also actively participates in peer review, serving on multiple NIH and NSF panels and contributing to the review and editorial process for 32 journals. He has secured many competitive federal research grants from agencies such as NIH, NSF, NASA, DOD, and the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab. Recently, Dr. Chen has expanded the scope of regenerative engineering research from Earth to space, having received funding to develop and assess Janus base nanomaterials on the ISS for innovative in-space bioengineering and biotherapeutics.
John Counsell
Associate Professor, University College London
Dr John Counsell is an Associate Professor at University College London. His research group engineer novel genetic therapies with functionalities not served by existing technologies. He is actively involved in translation and commercialisation of novel therapies internal and external to UCL, helping to progress novel interventions for a range of diseases with unmet clinical needs.
Richard Harbottle
Head of DNA Vector Research, German Cancer Research Centre
Richard is currently the Principle Investigator and Group Leader of the DNA Vector Research Group at the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg.
Our research focuses on the development of DNA vector technologies for gene therapy with particular focus on the application of minimally sized scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) vectors.
We have recently made a breakthrough in our DNA vector design which allows the application of our vector in stem cells and in primary human cells. For the first time we have generated a DNA vector system which can provide persistent transgene expression in primary human T-Cells without the risk of integration-mediated genotoxicity and we are currently developing a range of novel DNA vectors for anti-tumour immunotherapy.This DNA vector can also be used to genetically modify stem cells and we have recently shown for the first time that we can generate stable mouse embryonic cell lines and can generate transgenic mice from these modified cells.
Piotr Kowalski
Associate Professor in Advanced Therapies, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, and a Funded investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland
Dr. Kowalski is an Associate Professor in advanced therapies at the School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, and a Funded Investigator at the APC Microbiome Ireland. He earned his Ph.D. in 2014 from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) which focused on the development of lipid-based systems for tissue selective delivery of siRNA. He received his postdoctoral training at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the laboratories of Prof. Daniel Anderson and Prof. Robert Langer. His multidisciplinary research focused on engineering novel biomaterials to enable the delivery of messenger RNAs to treat inflammatory diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Dr. Kowalski’s work resulted in a number of high-impact publications, several patents on RNA delivery technologies, and the creation of a US-based biotech startup (Orna therapeutics). His research at UCC is centered on developing Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, in particular, novel clinically relevant drug delivery technologies for parental and non-parental applications, to facilitate effective nucleic acid-based therapies aimed at high medical need diseases that lack effective treatment. Dr. Kowalski has recently won a prestigious European Research Council Starting grant to develop a new class of circular RNA therapeutics and is a member of the GENEGUT consortium amining to create first-in-class oral RNA therapy. Currently, his group investigates the therapeutic potential of RNA molecules, including short interfering RNAs, messenger RNAs and circular RNAs, to treat diseases such as sepsis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer and develops methods to deliver these RNA-based drugs to diseased cells.
Nick Lench
Executive Director, MRC Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator
Nick is Executive Director of the MRC Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator based at Harwell, UK. Nick has over 35 years’ experience in rare disease genetics and genomic medicine and has worked in academia, industry and the NHS. Nick is a co-founder of Congenica, a leading international digital health company providing clinical decision support software for rare disease diagnosis and precision medicine. Prior to founding Congenica, Nick was Director of Genetics Services at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, one of the world’s leading paediatric hospitals. Nick holds an honoray appointment at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UCL and was awarded a personal chair in Medical Genetics at Cardiff University, Wales, UK
Veikko Linko
Associate Professor, University of Tartu. Estonia, Visiting Scientist, Aalto University, Finland
Dr. Veikko Linko is an Associate Professor of Biomedicine Technologies at University of Tartu, Estonia, and he also acts as a Visiting Scientist at Aalto University, Finland. His research is focused on structural DNA nanotechnology, in particular DNA origami, and its various uses in drug-delivery and sensing applications as well as in nanolithography and plasmonics. The other important research direction is to develop novel biohybrid materials by combining DNA nanostructures with e.g. proteins, polymers, lipids and nanoparticles.
Chris Mason
Professor of Cell & Gene Therapy, Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, University College London
Prof. Chris Mason is a clinician-scientist with over 20 years of cell and gene therapy experience including Full Professor of Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing at University College London. He has a multidisciplinary track record spanning R&D, clinical medicine, bioprocessing, regulation, healthcare economics, reimbursement and commercialization. He is co-founder of the London Regenerative Medicine Network, trustee of the UK Stem Cell Foundation and on the UK-Israel Science Council. Current SAB appointments include; public and private companies, the UK Cell Therapy Catapult and the Canadian Centre for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine. Prof. Mason is a general spokesperson for the cell and gene therapy sector including frequent newspaper, radio and TV interviews plus social media including @Prof_ChrisMason on Twitter.
Myriam Mendila
Chief Development Officer, CureVac
Myriam Mendila joined CureVac from Novartis, Switzerland, where she served as Chief Medical Officer in the Oncology Business Unit with responsibility for the worldwide medical affairs function. In this role, she was a member of several governance boards, including the Oncology Leadership Team, the Scientific Development Leadership Team, and the Development Committee Novartis. In the past, Myriam has held different leadership positions of increasing responsibility within global medical affairs, US medical affairs, global product development, and global product strategy at Roche/Genentech. Prior to that, she led Global Medical Affairs at Roche HQ in Basel. Myriam holds an MD from the Medical School Hanover. She has research papers in journals, including AIDS, The Lancet, The Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, and The Lancet Oncology.
Nizar Y Saad
Research Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and Principal Investigator, Center for Gene Therapy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Dr. Saad is a research assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and a principal investigator at the Center for Gene Therapy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Saad is an experienced RNA and gene therapy scientist. His past research focused on understanding the role of riboswitch RNAs and natural microRNAs in regulating gene expression in bacteria and humans. Dr. Saad's past research has deepened our understanding of the function of riboswitch RNAs and has led to the development of natural microRNA therapeutic strategies using AAV gene therapy and small molecules for Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Dr. Saad’s current research is focused on understanding the pathobiology of rare genetic diseases, on the development of viral (Adeno-Associated Virus) and non-viral (Exosomes) based gene therapies towards these disorders (e.g., Progeria) and on the discovery of circulating exosome-based molecular biomarkers. Dr. Saad’s growing international reputation is demonstrated by his service on the New Investigator Committee, the Musculo-Skeletal Gene & Cell Therapy Committee and the Oligonucleotide and RNAi Therapeutics Committee of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT).
David W. Salzman
Chief Executive Officer, Gatehouse Bio
David is the CEO of Gatehouse Bio. He is responsible for leading the scientific vision of the company which was founded based on his discovery of algorithms that identify disease-driving small RNAs which are used as therapeutic targets.
David’s work spans over two decades, where he uncovered many of the functional roles small RNA play in biology, as well as seminal discoveries to the field regarding small RNA biogenesis and characterizing RISC activity. Prior to Gatehouse Bio, David pioneered the creation of gold standard R&D tools including the first two anti-DICER mAbs, and a dual-luciferase reporter assay that’s used to measure small RNA, siRNAand ASO function. He has held leadership roles in startups such as MiraDx, where he managed the development of commercial diagnostics for radiation and immunotherapy response and at Biogen where he was the early translational lead supporting the antisense oligo pipeline including Qualsofy (tofersen) for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
David is a Business Advisory Board member of the Harvard Medical School’s Institute for RNA Medicine. David earned a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Connecticut, and completed a postgraduate fellowship in Therapeutic Radiology and Translational Science at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Jeske Smink
Senior Director, Head of Drug Substance, Silence Therapeutics, Berlin, Germany
Jeske Smink is a biologist with over 20 years’ experience in the biotech industry and academic research. She has expertise in CMC aspects in different areas, including cell therapies, biologics, and RNA therapies. After 7 years in academic research focusing on molecular mechanisms in bone development and diseases, she moved to co.don AG as Head of Scientific Affairs in 2012. Here her work focused on preclinical development and quality aspects of cartilage cell transplants, contributing to the EMA central market authorization of a cartilage cell therapy. Following, she joined ProBioGen as CMC project leader, where she was overseeing customer projects, focusing on process and analytical development, scale-up, and large scale GMP manufacturing of biologics for clinical Phase 1 studies. In 2020, Jeske joined Silence Therapeutics, Berlin, Germany, as Senior Director, Head of Drug Substance overseeing CMC development of early stage development projects, including process and analytical development, scale-up and clinical product manufacturing of siRNA compounds, and contributing to quality sections of regulatory documentation. Her work includes managing a team consisting of several CMC project leaders, a starting material lead, and analytical chemists.
Jan Thirkettle
Chief Executive Officer, Harness Therapeutics
Jan is the CEO of Harness Therapeutics, a UK based RNA platform company developing protein-upregulation therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. He has more than 25 years’ experience of pharmaceutical development and has played a leadership role in the commercialisation of therapeutics across all modalities. Jan joined Harness from Freeline Therapeutics where he was start-up CEO and CDO overseeing establishment of a platform for a novel AAV capsid, and programme management. Prior to this Jan held roles at GSK spanning from Discovery to Manufacturing, latterly establishing the cell/gene therapy platform and playing a pivotal role in the commercialisation of Strimvelis. Jan also serves on the Board for a seed-stage epilepsy gene therapy startup, currently in stealth mode, and also the Regulatory sub-committee for the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy. Jan holds an MA in Chemistry and a DPhil in Biological Chemistry from the University of Oxford.
Jim Weterings
Vice President R&D RNA Therapeutics & Delivery, Sirnaomics
Jim has had a tight bond with Oligonucleotides since 2002, performing research on PNA (conjugates) in the van Boom group at Leiden University, the Netherlands and targeted SSO conjugates at Prosensa. During his Ph.D at Leiden University he synthesized and studied CpG Oligonucleotide and other TLR ligand containing conjugates. At Cenix BioScience in Belgium/Germany, he developed targeted siRNA conjugates for CNS delivery. And at Cristal Therapeutics, the Netherlands he led various projects on the (targeted) nanomedicine delivery of oligonucleotide in oncology. In 2019 he joined AstraZeneca in Sweden, to further the advancement of (targeted) oligonucleotide therapeutics. In December 2022, Jim joined Sirnaomics, USA where he now serves as Vice President R&D USA, driving efforts to deliver RNAi Therapeutics using GalNAc and Peptide Nanoparticle platforms.
Jian Yan
Vice President, Research and Discovery, Geneos Therapeutics
Dr. Jian Yan is currently the Vice President of Research and Discovery at Geneos Therapeutics. Dr. Yan has over 15 years of experience in leading preclinical research programs for the development of novel immunotherapies. At Geneos, she leads the research team responsible for personalized neoantigen-based DNA vaccine design and clinical immunology and efficacy evaluation. Prior to joining Geneos, she served as the Vice President of Design and Product Development at NEUVOGEN, where she was responsible for design and development of next generation of therapeutic whole cell cancer vaccines. Prior to NEUVOGEN, Jian was a Director of Antigen Design and Discovery, where she led a cross-functional team to provide strategic insight into prioritization and down-selection of therapeutic indications for DNA-based vaccine programs at Inovio Pharmaceuticals. She also provided leadership for novel therapeutic vaccine target evaluation, discovery and design to support the robust product portfolio of therapeutics in solid tumors. Jian started her career as a postdoctoral researcher at University of Pennsylvania where she created and established novel vaccine design strategy, designed and developed multiple therapeutic DNA vaccines. She has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in the area of DNA-based immunotherapy. She is also a co-inventor of more than 60 patents to innovative vaccine and antibody claims and was selected as one of the “Top 20 Translational Researchers” for 2016 and 2018 by Nature Biotechnology.
Chun-Wan Yen
Senior Principal Scientist the Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences Genentech, Inc.
Chun-Wan Yen received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from National Taiwan University. She then pursued her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Following her Ph.D., she was awarded an ORISE fellowship and conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2015, Chun-Wan began her industrial career at Merck Research Laboratory from 2015-2018. She is currently a Senior Principal Scientist in the Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences at Genentech. She is the CMC lead for parenteral formulation development. Her research interests include drug delivery for exotic modalities such as oligonucleotides, peptides, and mRNAs to support undruggable targets. Chun-Wan has published 40 peer-reviewed papers and holds three patents.