Feng Zhang Discusses CRISPR and Future of Gene Editing in Interview in Human Gene Therapy

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - March 13, 2017 - PRLog -- A significant patent court decision on CRISPR-related genome editing research ruled in favor of the Broad Institute/MIT for key inventions by the laboratory of Feng Zhang, PhD, who discusses the importance and future development of CRISPR in an interview published in Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/). The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/humc.2017.29022.int) website until April 13, 2017.

Feng Zhang, PhD, Core Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, spoke with James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor of Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, in the interview entitled "Jurassic Park, Gene Therapy, and Neuroscience (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/humc.2017.29022.int)." Their in-depth conversation focuses on Dr. Zhang's early life in China, education in the U.S., and fascination with science in general and specifically genetics, neuroscience, and understanding neurological diseases.

Dr. Zhang recalls how is graduate research in optogenetics led to a desire to learn how to manipulate gene expression and DNA in individual cells to be able to study genetic mutations. He discusses his early research using a variety of gene editing tools including CRISPR. Dr. Zhang describes ongoing improvements to CRISPR-based genome editing systems and the potential therapeutic impact of more precise and efficient methods for manipulating DNA that are now in development. CRISPR technology has been broadly regarded as having the potential to revolutionize gene therapy in the coming years.

"What Feng has accomplished in his young career is truly amazing. I was fascinated to learn about events in his childhood that stimulated his interest in science," says Human Gene Therapy Clinical DevelopmentEditor James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. "This interview provides a glimpse into a true pioneer in one of the most exciting areas of biomedical research."

About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to gene transfer in humans. Its companion journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly and focused on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of contents for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy (http://www.liebertpub.com/hgt) website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) website.

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