David Curiel, MD, a professor of radiation oncology and director of the Biologic Therapeutics Center at the School of Medicine, has harnessed gene therapy and viral vectors to develop therapeutics and vaccines for a number of diseases, including cancer, genetic disorders and COVID-19. More recently he has pioneered gene editing strategies toward gene therapy cures. He has co-founded a number of biotechnology startups, including Altimmune, DNAtrix, Unleash Immuno Oncoloytics and Precision Virologics. Most recently, he co-developed a nasal vaccine against COVID-19 that is in phase 3 human clinical trials in India.
Including Curiel, six researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). They are among 83 new senior members who will be honored in June at the NAI annual meeting in Phoenix.