Gene Therapy

His project aims to directly address current limitations of hemophilia A gene and protein therapy by the identification and characterization of new hyperactive factor VIII variants based on his previous studies of hyperactive factor IX variants. He will take a rational approach to identify such variants focused on amino acid substitutions that can enhance factor VIII cofactor activity while maintaining physiological regulation, which will facilitate their translation into therapeutics. In vivo murine studies of efficacy and immunogenicity will provide the basis for subsequent translational studies.

Dr. Courtney Thornburg is the Director of the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Treatment Center at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California-San Diego.

Dr. Thornburg graduated from Duke University Medical School, completed her pediatric residency at Duke University Medical Center, and completed her pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of Michigan. While at the University of Michigan, she completed a Master Degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis. During her time in Michigan she focused her training on hemophilia and other bleeding disorders and was a NHF-Shire Clinical Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Pipe. Dr. Thornburg was on the faculty at Duke University from 2005-2013 where she directed the sickle cell and hemostasis and thrombosis programs.

Dr. Thornburg is committed to taking care of children with blood disorders including bleeding disorders, clotting disorders and inherited red blood cell disorders. She conducts clinical research to improve the care of individuals with blood disorders. Her  NHF Innovative Investigator Research Award focuses on patient preferences and shared-decision making related to gene therapy for hemophilia.

In order to educate the next generation of physicians, Dr. Thornburg teaches medical students, residents and fellows and is the Director of the Pediatric Hemostasis and Thrombosis Fellowship at RCHSD, a site for the NHF-Takeda Clinical Fellowship program.

Dr. Thornburg is a member of NHF’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC).

In addition to her career in medicine, Dr. Thornburg enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and playing tennis.

The goal of Dr. Chen's research is to examine a method for selectively expanding hematopoietic stem cells expressing the factor VIII transgene. She will also examine the immune consequences of this approach, based on the idea that gene transfer in platelets evades immune recognition. This research has the potential to elicit important clues to developing an approach for gene therapy of hemophilia A and hemophilia A with inhibitors.

Dr. Chen earned a PhD in hematology from Fujian Medical University in China. She already has more than 27 papers published in the Chinese medical literature. Her research in hemophilia and gene therapy will be under the mentorship of Dr. Qizhen Shi, MD, PhD, Associate Investigator at the Blood Research Institute and Assistant Professor of Pediatric Hematology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Satish Nandakumar is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Vijay Sankaran at the Boston Children's Hospital. Previously, he did his graduate work at the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In his JGP Fellowship project, Dr. Nandakumar aims to develop a novel gene therapy approach for hemophilia that involves activation of the endogenous factor VIII or IX genes within hematopoietic stem cells by taking advantage of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene activation system. This work has the potential to benefit patients with mild hemophilia mutations.

Paul Monahan is Translational and Clinical Development Lead for Hematology Gene Therapy at Spark Therapeutics. Prior to 2015, Dr. Monahan was Professor of Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he spent more than 20 years as an Investigator in the UNC Gene Therapy Center and treating children with bleeding disorders as an Attending Physician in the Harold Roberts Hemophilia Diagnostic and Treatment Center. He served on several clinical medical and scientific foundations and committees including the Board of Directors of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society. For ten years he served on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Hemophilia Foundation and as the Region IV Director for the US Hemophilia Treatment Center Network (CDC and MCHB). His basic science laboratory maintained a research focus on gene therapy for hemophilia as well as animal models for the study of hemophilic bone and joint disease, inhibitors in hemophilia B, and novel therapies from 1996 through 2016. In 2013 the National Hemophilia Foundation awarded Monahan the NHF Leadership in Research Award. Prior to joining Spark in Spring 2018, he performed preclinical research development and coordinated clinical trial initiation of hemophilia B and hemophilia A gene therapy trials in a collaborative partnership with Asklepios Biopharmaceuticals and as Medical Lead at Baxalta/Shire.