Times: Monday July 31 to Wednesday August 30

Style: Online (Remote Synchronous)

This 5-week course will introduce students with limited to no experience to the field of advanced biological therapeutics. Philadelphia is poised to be a leader in the field of Cell and Gene Therapy, therapies that harness the body to heal itself. With the first FDA approved gene therapy product to cure childhood blindness developed here in Philadelphia, we need to understand the field in order to push the science forward. We will discuss what gene therapy is, as well as cell-based therapies and other biologics, and hear from experts about the current state of the field and any challenges they are facing now. For the time of the class, you will be enrolled as a non-matriculated graduate student at Drexel University. The course is available for all students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in addition to working professionals. In this course, students will learn:

• Hear from academic and industry experts about the current state of the fields we will cover in the course

• The history of biologic therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies

• How gene therapies changed not only how we treat genetic diseases, but also the field of vaccines

• What cell-based therapies are and where the field is moving

• Manufacturing processes to create these therapies and challenges in scaling from the lab bench to the patient product

• Reading and understanding primary research articles

This Bootcamp is an online class organized with support of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies at Drexel University.

Faculty

Victoria Nash, MS received her BS in Engineering Science and Biomedical Engineering Devices from Tufts University in 2015. She gained valuable insight into gene therapy while she worked for Moderna in Preclinical Production before returning to academia, where she obtained her MS in Biomedical Engineering in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems from Drexel University. During her Master's, Victoria participated in the co-op program at Drexel and was fortunate enough to be the first student to co-op at Spark Therapeutics, working in Upstream Process Development. While she enjoyed her work at Spark, she decided to stay in academia to complete her PhD in biomaterials and regenerative medicine, advised by Kara Spiller, PhD.

George Buchlis, PhD. received his BS in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. He subsequently completed a Master's in Biotechnology, and a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology, both from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focus in Katherine High’s lab during his PhD was to elucidate the mechanisms of immune responses against gene therapy vectors. After a brief post-doctoral fellowship, he joined Spark Therapeutics in its infancy, further researching gene therapy immune responses. Two years later, George joined the clinical immunology group at GSK, leading assay development and immunogenicity assays for GSK’s cell and gene therapy discovery projects. After a memorable 4 years at GSK, the desire to rejoin academic research brought George to his current position, as the Director of Immunology Discovery at Penn’s Gene Therapy Program, led by James Wilson. He’s been leading work uncovering immunological toxicities associated with high dose gene therapies, a significant hurdle in the gene therapy field.

Andres Kriete, PhD. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems

Tuition

Fees are approximately $1,300 for tuition. The bootcamp runs for 5 weeks, every Monday and Wednesday, from 5 pm - 6 pm EST.

The credit associated with the class can be applied to any Drexel Master's Degree.

Current Drexel Students

Please contact Natalia Broz (njb33@drexel.edu) if you are a current Drexel student and want to enroll in this course.

Apply

1. Make a user account

2. Choose Fall 2023 - Summer 2024 option

3. Choose Graduate Application,

4. Complete biographical Information

5. Under Academic Area of Interest Choose “The School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems” and then in the program field Choose “Non-Matriculated – School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems”.

6. Under Term you Plan to Enroll choose Summer

7. Under Full-Time/Part-Time Status choose Part-Time

8. Follow the directions about entering current or previous institutions and emailing unofficial transcripts to enroll@drexel.edu and disregard application essay and CV information (click continue).

9. Answer Disclosures Questions

10. Certify application and submit!

Apply Now

Deadline

Please apply until July 24, 2023

Learn More About the Drexel Graduate Certificate

To request more information about the program please contact the BIOMED Front Office.

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