Frederic Bushman, PhD Receives Pioneer Award for Advancing Therapeutic Gene Delivery Methods

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - June 24, 2014 - PRLog -- Contact: Vicki Cohn, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc, (914) 740-2100, ext. 2156, vcohn@liebertpub.com

Frederic Bushman, PhD Receives Pioneer Award for Advancing Therapeutic Gene Delivery Methods

New Rochelle, NY—Frederic D. Bushman, PhD’s (University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine) early pioneering work in understanding how HIV reproduces by inserting its genetic material into the DNA of a host cell led to key advances in the ability to move pieces of DNA and whole genes between cells. In recognition of his scientific achievements and leadership in the field, Dr. Bushman is the recipient of 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. Bushman is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website (http://www.liebertpub.com/hgt).

In “Engineering the Human Genome: Reflections on the Beginning,” (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/hum.2014.2524) Dr. Bushman recalls his research as a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow studying the regulatory mechanisms that control gene expression and identifying DNA binding proteins that viruses—such as the HIV retrovirus—use to integrate into a host genome at targeted sites. Currently, retroviral delivery vectors are widely used for gene transfer in human gene therapy. Dr. Bushman’s research accomplishments have contributed to the development of new gene delivery vectors and to more effective and efficient methods of targeting them to integration sites, and have advanced the field of gene therapy.

"Rick’s background in HIV biology was very useful in his current studies of retroviral and lentiviral vector integration," 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. "He brought to the field an incredibly sophisticated approach to assess integration sites, which has informed safety profiles."

*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.

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. 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 the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses 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 content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website (http://www.liebertpub.com/hgt).

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many areas of science and biomedical research, including Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), 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 website (http://www.liebertpub.com).