Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Director of the Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies, Duke
Biography
Charles A. Gersbach, PhD, is the John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and Director of the Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies. His research focuses on developing and applying genome engineering technologies, particularly CRISPR-based methods, for therapeutic genome editing, synthetic biology, and functional genomics. Dr. Gersbach's work aims to bridge the gap between fundamental research and clinical applications, significantly advancing gene and cell therapies for genetic diseases and regenerative medicine. His contributions have been recognized with awards such as the NIH Directors Pioneer Award, and he has been inducted into the AIMBE College of Fellows. Dr. Gersbach earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2025 Silicon Valley
Track Co-Chairs:
Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
Morten Sogaard, Astellas Gene Therapies
- PMWC 2025 Award Ceremony
Pioneer Honoree: James M. Wilson, Gemma Biotherapeutics
Luminary Honoree: Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford
- Keynote: Bioorthogonal Chemistry, from Basic Science to Clinical Translation
- Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford
- Keynote: The Promise of Genetic Medicines Unless You're Too Poor or Too Rare
- James M. Wilson, Gemma Biotherapeutics
- Barriers in Gene Therapy
Chair: Timothy Hunt, Alliance for Regenerative Medicine
- Tay Salimullah, 4BIO Capital
- James M. Wilson, Gemma Biotherapeutics
- Courtney Silverthorn, Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC) - Next-Generation Delivery Systems for Gene Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: James M. Wilson, Gemma Biotherapeutics
- Mathieu Nonnenmacher, Voyager Therapeutics
- Kevin Friedman, Kelonia Therapeutics
- Kunwoo Lee, GenEdit
- Haig Aghajanian, Capstan Therapeutics
- Beyond the Genome: Harnessing Epigenetics in Rare Disease Treatment (PANEL)
Chair: Charles Gersbach, Duke
- Prashant Mali, UCSD
- Nadav Ahituv, UCSF
- Blythe Sather, Tune Therapeutics
- Fyodor D Urnov, Berkely University
- Navigating the Regulatory Landscape for Gene and Cell Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
- Rob Califf, FDA
- Courtney Silverthorn, Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC)
- Ben Dewees, Kyverna Therapeutics
- Paul Kruszka, GeneDx
- AI-driven Improvements in Gene and Cell Therapy (PANEL)
Chair: John Androsavich, Ginkgo Bioworks
- Francois Vigneault, Shape Therapeutics
- Eeshit Dhaval Vaishnav, Sequome
- Sam Sinai, Dyno Therapeutics
- Kira Radinsky, mana.bio
