George Aslanidi
University of Minnesota, MN·Microbiology & Immunology
Many inherited and acquired diseases could in principle be treated by delivering a working copy of a gene into a patient's cells. The hard part is delivery.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Genetics
Biomedical Engineering
- Topics
adeno-associated virus
gene therapy
gene delivery
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Nov 2028
What they work on
- Test in non-human primates whether extracellular-vesicle-associated AAV vectors deliver genes efficiently to the airway lining, combining non-invasive live imaging of gene expression with post-necropsy analysis of transduced cell subpopulations.
- Determine whether AAV serotype 6 vectors reach airway basal cells, the self-renewing stem cells of the airway, to assess the potential for long-term gene expression in a continuously regenerating tissue.
- Produce high titers of AAV-based cancer vaccines carrying the melanoma antigens gp100/Pmel, tyrosinase, TRP1 and TRP2 using optimized capsids and expression cassettes.
- Identify an optimal AAV vaccine dose and test its safety and efficacy in companion dogs with spontaneous oral melanoma, measuring effects on tumor progression.
- Define how the vaccine works, including how capsid surface serine and threonine residues and redesigned expression cassettes shape antigen processing by dendritic cells and the resulting T-cell and antibody responses.
More about the research
Work here centers on adeno-associated virus (AAV), a small, harmless virus repurposed as a gene-delivery shuttle, and on redesigning it so it reaches the cells that matter. Two lines of work share that goal: getting genes into the cells lining the airways so lung diseases can be treated durably, and using the same vectors as cancer vaccines that teach the immune system to attack tumors.
Why it matters
Better AAV vectors could make gene therapy work for lung diseases where trials have so far shown safety but little benefit, by reaching the renewing basal cells needed for durable correction. The cancer side could yield a vaccine platform for dogs with oral melanoma, a spontaneous tumor that resembles the human disease, and may inform viral-vector immunotherapy for human cancer patients.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Aravind Asokan
Duke University, NC·Biomedical Engineering
Test whether IceMG, an engineered protease that cleaves human and monkey IgG and IgM antibodies, blocks complement activation and modulates B-cell signaling, using human cell models, humanized mice and non-human primates.
Ronald G Crystal
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NY·Medicine & Clinical Research
Secure Investigational New Drug approval and manufacture clinical-grade AAV8hAAT(AVL), a virus vector carrying an oxidation-resistant form of alpha 1-antitrypsin, the protein that blocks lung-digesting enzymes.
Arun Srivastava
University of Florida, FL·Medicine & Clinical Research
Develop liver-de-targeted, capsid- and genome-modified next-generation AAV vectors based on AAVrh74 for skeletal muscle and AAV9 for the central nervous system, and demonstrate enhanced expression from AAV-PDHA1 vectors.
The school
University of Minnesota: 88 labs on PI Pages, $1.4B a year on research, 722 research doctorates a year.
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