PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

19-Feb-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 19, 2014Joseph C. Glorioso, III, PhD (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA) devoted much of his research career to developing herpes viruses as efficient vectors for delivering therapeutic genes into cells. In recognition of his leadership and accomplishments, he has received a Pioneer Award from Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Human Gene Therapy is commemorating its 25th anniversary by bestowing this honor on the leading 12 Pioneers in the field of cell and gene therapy selected by a blue ribbon panel* and publishing a Pioneer Perspective by each of the award recipients. The Perspective by Dr. Glorioso is available on the Human Gene Therapy website.

As he recounts in his essay "Herpes Simplex Viral Vectors: Late Bloomers with Big Potential," it took 30 years to create broadly applicable HSV vector designs and a useful gene delivery platform. Since herpes simplex virus has a natural affinity for the nervous system, Dr. Glorioso believes that "gene delivery to the brain represents the most important frontier for HSV-mediated gene therapy and provides a unique opportunity to study complex processes such as learning and memory and to treat complex genetic and acquired diseases, including brain degeneration, epilepsy, and cancer."

In addition, says Dr. Glorioso, some herpes viral delivery systems are proving useful for gene transfer in the emerging field of cellular reprogramming to produce stem cells for tissue regeneration.

"Joe began his work in gene therapy early in the development of the field focusing on the very challenging objective of targeting the central nervous system. His work with HSV vectors represents an incredibly elegant blending of basic virology and translational science," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

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*The blue ribbon panel of leaders in cell and gene therapy, led by Chair Mary Collins, PhD, MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London selected the Pioneer Award recipients. The Award Selection Committee selected scientists that had devoted much of their careers to cell and gene therapy research and had made a seminal contribution to the field--defined as a basic science or clinical advance that greatly influenced progress in translational research.

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Joseph Glorioso, Ph.D., receives Pioneer Award