George Aslanidi, PhD, Publishes Research That Could Lead to New Treatments for Genetic Diseases
AUSTIN, Minn. - The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota’s, George Aslanidi, PhD, has published research that could lead to improved access to personalized treatment for patients with genetic diseases. With more than 7,000 genetic diseases with limited treatments available, the need for personalized approaches to disease treatment is ever present.
In the past few years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved several genetic drugs based on the Adeno-associated virus (AAV). AAV is a virus that can be designed to deliver DNA to targeted cells. However, the lack of a personalized approach to find the most appropriate type of AAV for treatment means these treatments aren’t effective for all people who need it.
Dr. Aslanidi and his team have developed and validated a novel laboratory test used to find and measure the amount of a specific substance that can help to identify which AAVs may best meet eligibility requirements for patients with genetic diseases to enroll in appropriate clinical trials.
“Our test has an advantage over currently used methods because it measures the effectiveness of multiple genetic drugs on a small volume of patients’ blood under the identical conditions,” said Dr. Aslanidi. “This increases the accuracy and reproducibility of the results and could lead to further development of the treatment options for patients with genetic diseases, and possibly cancer.”
Dr. Aslanidi plans to conduct further studies to continue to validate the test and work with clinical doctors to match patients’ information with particular drugs formulation needed for treatment.
The article “Multiplexing AAV Serotype-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies in Preclinical Animal Models and Humans” was published in the journal Biomedicines. The full article is available here: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/2/523.
ABOUT THE HORMEL INSTITUTE
The Hormel Institute is an independent biomedical research department within the University of Minnesota’s Office of the Vice President for Research. Collaborative research partners include Masonic Cancer Center UMN (a Comprehensive Cancer Center as designated by the National Cancer Institute, N.I.H.), Mayo Clinic, and many other leading research centers worldwide. The Hormel Institute, which tripled in size in 2008 and doubled again in size in 2016, is home to some of the world’s most cutting-edge research technologies and expert scientists. Over the next few years, The Hormel Institute will broaden its impact through innovative, world class research in its quest to improve human health.