Medical College of Wisconsin Ocular Gene Therapy Laboratory 2017 News

2017 News

	^{December 4, 2017} Publication – Chris Reid and Kristina Ertel have an article published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science Chris Reid, a final year graduate student in the IDP program, and Kristina Ertel, a former research technologist in the Ocular Gene Therapy Laboratory, recently published an article describing a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector with significantly improved photoreceptor targeting following intravitreal injection. The study demonstrates that capsid modifications with different mechanisms of action can be combined into a single capsid, leading to an additive increase in tissue penetrance and cellular uptake. The resulting vector, termed rAAV2/2[MAX], is currently being trialled by several OGTL collaborators and is available upon request. Read the full article
	^{July 10, 2017} Welcome – Emily Nettesheim joins OGTL as a Research Technologist Emily Nettesheim, who recently received Bachelors degrees (BS) in both Anthropology and Molecular Biology from the University of Madison, Wisconsin, will join OGTL as a research Technologist. Emily will be responsible for assisting the everyday running of the lab, in addition to conducting her own research project focused on the design of novel viral vectors with large coding capacity for retinal gene delivery.
	^{July 5, 2017} Welcome – Dwani Patel joins OGTL as a graduate student Dwani Patel, a MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), has joined the OGTL under the supervision of Dr Daniel Lipinski, DPhil, on a full time basis to undertake his doctoral research. Dwani will be focusing on the development of strategies to target gene delivery to retinal vascular endothelial cells and pericytes, cell types that are implicated in the development of sight - threatening complications associated with diabetes.
	^{June 15, 2017} Publication – Chris Reid has article accepted to Gene Therapy Chris Reid, a fourth year graduate student, publishes an article in Gene Therapy detailing a methodology to improve recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector yield through silencing of transgene expression during virus manufacture. Co-authors on the study include William Hauswirth, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology, and Sanford Boye, MS, Associate Scientist, both at the University of Florida. Read the full article
	^{April 19, 2017} Congratulations – The ARVO Annual Meeting Program Committee select Kristina Ertel’s abstract as a 2017 ‘Hot Topic’ Kristina Ertel, a research technologist in the OGTL, will present a poster describing her efforts to improve photoreceptor targeting from the vitreous using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors. Building upon published work by the Boye and Flannery Laboratories, Kristina has demonstrated that combining single point mutations with peptide insertions in a single rAAV capsid leads to an additive increase in vector tissue penetrance and improved photoreceptor transduction. The ‘Hot Topic’ designation is awarded to approximately 2% of abstracts at the ARVO Annual Meeting to highlight ‘the newest and most innovative research being conducted in various specialities’. Intravitreal transduction profile of recombinant adeno-associated virus in murine and human retina Kristina J. Ertel, Christpher A. Reid & Daniel M. Lipinski Poster B0344: 8.30am – 10.15am and 2.45pm – 3.45pm May 7th
	^{March 13, 2017} Congratulations – Chris Reid receives the Retina Research Foundation/Joseph M. and Eula C. Lawrence Travel Grant and is selected for the Members-in-training Outstanding Poster Award Chris Reid, a fourth year graduate student, has been awarded a prestigious travel grant to attend this year’s Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, to be held in Baltimore, May 7 – 11, 2017. Chris will be presenting a poster on the use of riboswitch technologies to modulate gene expression levels in vivo following rAAV-mediated gene delivery to the retina (see Conference Abstracts section). In addition to receiving a travel award, Chris will participate in the Members-in-Training Outstanding Poster Award, having received one of the top five review scores of any abstract submitted to the Retina (RE) section. Riboswitch-mediated modulation of transgene expression following rAAV delivery to the mouse retina Christopher A. Reid, Kristina J. Ertel & Daniel M. Lipinski Poster B0088: 8:30-10:15 am Wed. May 10 Reid, C., Lipinski, D.M.
	^{March 10, 2017} Congratulations – Kristina Ertel is accepted to graduate school Kristina Ertel, currently a research technologist in the Lipinski Laboratory, has been accepted to the Medical College of Wisconsin Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Program (IDP). Beginning in August 2017, Kristina will be joining a class of approximately 20 promising doctoral candidates. The whole of the OGTL program wishes Kristina the best of luck in her future endeavours!
	^{March 1, 2017} Welcome – Hanmeng Zhang joins the Lipinski Lab as a graduate student Hanmeng Zhang, a second year graduate student in the Neuroscience Doctoral Program (NDP), has elected to join the Lipinski Laboratory full time to carry out research towards her graduate thesis. Hanmeng will primarily be working on developing novel therapies to prevent cone photoreceptor degeneration in retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that causes severe visual impairment in approximately 1 in 4000 individuals worldwide