Gene Therapy

[riws]

Hi Folks

I am a doctor by training from India and am deeply interested in the subject of Gene therapy. I want to make this my future calling.I would be grateful if I could get some guidance here because there is very little awareness about this subject.

I tried to find out about institutions where I can study further but came up with very little information.There is only Upenn.edu where a MS course is there in Gene Therapy (Upenn has a MD in Gene therapy as well ) and a MSc in Human Molecular Genetics in Imperial College London (UK.)

Are there any other institutions besides these where I could learn this subject. Secondly,what are the prospects for Gene therapy in near future ? Is it just an academic subject right now or is there scope for clinical practice ?

Thanks

Rishi

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Rishi,

As you are a medical doctor then I presume you would want to participate in human clinical trials. I suppose the doctors involved in clinical trials have an immunology and human genetics background, as well as knowledge of the particular disease that the gene therapy is targeting in that trial.

For trials in America, the FDA has an extensive reference section on cellular and gene therapy.

http://www.fda.gov/cber/gene.htm

If you search through this section then I’m sure you will find examples of current trials and where they are being carried out. Maybe if you contact the relevant institutions you can become involved in that way. Perhaps you could also find the FDA equivalent in other countries as well.

If you want to become involved at the research and development level then this would imply you have some cell biology/genetics/immunology/molecular biology or animal model experience. Perhaps you could search for gene therapy publications in PubMed. This might indicate some prominent researchers in the field. Many laboratory research positions in academia are never advertised. If you want to break into a particular research area, and assuming you are qualified for such positions, then make a list of people who you want to work with and start sending them your CV. Lab heads receive unsolicited job applications all the time, so don’t worry about that. Just go for it!

 

[CharonZ]

However, do not use a standard application and simply spam them. These applications are usually easily identified and go into the trash right away.
(At one time every single PI in my former working place got the same mail from from the same guy applying for postdoc....)

 

[Billy T]

...Secondly,what are the prospects for Gene therapy in near future ? Is it just an academic subject right now or is there scope for clinical practice ? ...

Not my field, but one of interest to me. (I own stock in SIRNA) Main text at their home page (www.sirna.com) is:

"Sirna Therapeutics is realizing the potential of RNAi by creating potent and stable siRNA compounds and delivering them into human cells where they are silencing the genes that cause serious diseases."

Perhaps more answers to your second question are there. The 14 June 06 web cast focuses on the bio-chemisty, technology, etc. instead of the more typical financial details. You should find it interesting.