Description:

The Center for Genetic Medicine of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine welcomes you to attend the Silverstein Lecture Series on April 8 (Evanston) and April 9 (Chicago), featuring Katherine A. High, MD, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Spark Therapeutics; and Member, Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics 
at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Gene therapy – changing the DNA of a patient to permanently cure a disease – has been dreamed of since DNA was discovered.  However, realizing this possibility has been a long road punctuated with high profile setbacks.  Nonetheless, with recent clinical successes and the advent of powerful new technologies, gene therapy is poised for explosive advancement.  Dr. Katherine High, long-time director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, and now President and Chief Scientific Officer of Spark Therapeutics, will discuss the evolution of gene therapy in both the academic and commercial spheres, innovative alternatives to the traditional models for bringing research out of not-for-profit labs and into commercial production, and how exciting new genome editing and stem cell technologies are impacting the future of gene therapy.