Gene Therapy:  What is it? How does it work?

Tuesday, March 22, 2022  @ 7:30 pm EST

Webinar description:
Dr. Andrew Landstrom will talk about how gene therapy research has evolved and how gene editing is used to deliver modified cells into humans. The few FDA approved products/treatments for inherited arrhythmias work in various ways such as delivering healthy genes to affected cells or reshaping the activity of the existing genes. Get answers to the questions below--and more.    

• What is gene therapy?
• Will gene therapy cure my SADS condition?
• How are genes edited and delivered into humans?
• What are the major hurdles to overcome before we can use gene therapy?
• What is CRISPR?
• What are some research advances and what to expect for future gene therapy for inherited arrhythmias?

Presenter’s biography:  Dr. Andrew Landstrom is a physician scientist who specializes in the care of children and young adults with arrhythmias, heritable cardiovascular diseases, and sudden unexplained death syndromes. As a clinician, he is trained in pediatric electrophysiology with a focus on genetic diseases of the heart. He specializes in caring for patients with heritable arrhythmias and channelopathies, such as long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, CPVT, and short QT syndrome.

As a scientist, he is trained in genetics and cell biology. He runs a research lab exploring the genetic and molecular causes of arrhythmias, sudden unexplained death syndromes, and heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathies). He utilizes patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and genetic mouse models to identify the mechanisms of cardiovascular genetic disease with the goal of developing novel therapies.