In June, the Byrne Lab announced the launch of the 2023 Pittsburgh Gene Therapy Bootcamp, aimed at graduate students and postdocs looking to gain experience in the field of gene therapy.
“We hope that this will be the first year of a recurring training program, covering main topics in gene therapy including gene delivery, genome editing, optogenetics, and ethical considerations,” said Leah Byrne, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh.
No prior experience in gene therapy is required for the program, which includes hands-on training. All guest speaker presentations are open to the community. The program includes one intensive week of hands-on wetlab experiments in AAV viral vector packaging and purification, followed by eight weeks of one-day-a-week wetlabs and once-a-week guest lectures.
As part of the wetlab training, students will run single-cell RNA-Seq experiments and produce and analyze data on the topic of in vivo viral vector-mediated gene delivery. Data collected during the course will be reported in a manuscript that will be submitted to a preprint server, and course participants will receive co-authorship on the paper. Students will have opportunities to shadow and network with professionals working in the field of gene therapy, including genetic counselors, local biotech companies, physicians, and academics.
Applications for Fall 2023 were accepted through June 30. For more information on the program, go to the Byrne Lab’s page.