Outstanding New Investigator Awards
About the Award
Several Outstanding New Investigators are recognized each year based on their contributions to the field of gene and cell therapy. Investigators from academia, research foundations, government, and industry are all eligible to be nominated for awards. Recipients of the Outstanding New Investigator Awards are celebrated at the ASGCT Annual Meeting every year. Each awardee will present a plenary lecture highlighting their scientific accomplishments that led to the award.
Criteria and Nominations
Any ASGCT member, other than a current officer or member of the Nomination and Awards Committee, is eligible. Nomination letters must be 500 words or fewer and be submitted by two ASGCT members. Nominees will be notified and required to provide a CV or NIH bio-sketch.
To be eligible, nominees must be:
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Independent investigators conducting original research in basic science, technology development, and/or clinical translation in the field of gene and cell therapy;
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Ten or fewer years out from their first active independent investigator position;
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Members in good standing of the Society;
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Nominated by two (or more) ASGCT members in good standing; and
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Available to give a presentation of their work at the next ASGCT Annual Meeting.
Nominate yourself or a colleague through September 16! Send nominations letters to awards@asgct.org.
Recipients
2025
Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, MD, PhD, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia
Xavier Anguela, PhD, Stealth Company
Ben Deverman, PhD, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Eric Smith, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2024
Agnieszka Czechowicz, MD, PhD, Stanford University
Pietro Genovese, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute + Harvard Medical School
Jennifer Hamilton, PhD, Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)
Sharif Tabebordbar, PhD, Kate Therapeutics
2023
Maksim “Max” Mamonkin, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine + March Bio
Justin Eyquem, PhD, University of California, San Francisco + Mnemo Therapeutics
Manuela Corti, PhD, University of Florida
2022
Lindsey George, MD, Childen's Hospital of Philadelphia
Matthew Hirsch, PhD, University of North Carolina
Morgan Maeder, PhD, Chroma Medicine
Christopher Peterson, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
2021
Natalia Gomez-Ospina, MD, PhD, Stanford University
Benjamin Kleinstiver, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Marcela Maus, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Annarita Miccio, PhD, Imagine Institute
2020
Daniel Bauer, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Harvard Medical School
Gene Editing for Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy
James Dahlman, Ph.D., Georgia Tech and Emory University
Identifying LNPs with Novel Tropism by Testing Thousands in Vivo Using DNA Barcodes
Viviana Gradinaru, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Systemic Gene Delivery to the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems and Applications to Neurodegeneration
Shengdar Tsai, Ph.D., St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Understanding and Improving Genome Editors for Therapeutics
2019
Steven J. Gray, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX
On the Brink of a Treatment Revolution for Inherited Pediatric Neurological Diseases
Anna Kajaste-Rudnitski, Ph.D., San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Milano Italy
Dissecting and Overcoming Innate Immune Barriers for Therapeutically Efficient Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Engineering
2018
Luca Biasco, Ph.D., Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston MA
Clonal Tracking of Genetically Engineered Hematopoietic Cells in Humans
Luk Vandenberghe, Ph.D., Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center, Boston, MA
On the Shoulders of Giants: Building Vectors and Gene Therapies
2017
James Kochenderfer, M.D., National Cancer Institute
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapies for Hematologic Malignancies
Lili Yang. Ph.D., University of California Los Angeles
Stem Cell-Engineered T Cell Immunotherapy for Cancer
2016
Jordan Green, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Polymeric Nanoparticles for Gene and Cell Therapy to Treat Cancer
Marcin Kortylewski, Ph.D. - City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Eliminating Tumor Immune Defenses using Oligonucleotide Therapeutics
Eirini P. Papapetrou, M.D., Ph.D. - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Genetic Engineering of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine and Disease Modeling
Junghae Suh, Ph.D. - Rice University
Design of Biocomputing Viruses for Controlled Gene Delivery
2015
Jennifer E. Adair, Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Found in Translation: Informed Development of Next-Generation Blood Stem Cell Gene Therapy
Ana Buj Bello, M.D., Ph.D., Genethon
Towards a Gene Therapy for Myotubular Myopathy
Dirk Grimm, Ph.D., University of Heidelberg
Small Viruses + Tiny RNAs = A Giant Toolbox for Gene and Cell Therapy
Eugenio Montini, Ph.D., San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy
Genetic Engineering of Somatic Cells by Viral/Vector Integrations in Gene Therapy and HIV-1 Infection
2014
Brian D. Brown, Ph.D., Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Dangerous Liaisons: Gene Transfer, microRNA, and the Immune System
Charles A. Gersbach, Ph.D., Duke University
Targeted Gene Correction and Regulation with Genome Engineering Technologies
Scott Q. Harper, Ph.D., Ohio State University & Nationwide Children's Hospital
Translating Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD)
Daniel J. Powell, Jr., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Innovative Approaches to Adoptive T cell Therapy of Cancer
2013
Aravind Asokan, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A Sweet Side to AAV Biology
Paloma H. Giangrande, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Targeted-Image Guided RNA (TIGR) Therapies
Michael A. Laflamme, M.D., Ph.D., University of Washington
Cardiac Repair with Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Ann M. Leen, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine - CAGT
T cell Therapy for Viruses and Cancer
2012
Nicola Brunetti-Pierri,M.D., Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Napoli, Italy
Helper-Dependent Adenoviral Vectors for Hepatocyte Gene Therapy
Marco A. Passini, Ph.D., Genzyme - A Sanofi Company, Framingham, MA
Gene and Antisense Therapies for Neurodegenerative Disorders
Theresa M. Reineke, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Design and Discovery of Glycopolymer Vehicles for the Delivery of Nucleic Acids
Benjamin R. tenOever, Ph.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Harnessing the Power of Small RNAs in Vector-Mediated Therapeutics
2011
Hiroyuki Nakai, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
In Vivo Viral Genome and Capsid Biology of Recombinant AAV Vectors
Miguel Sena-Esteves, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
AAV-Mediated Gene Therapy for Neuro-Metabolic Diseases and Brain Tumors
Qizhen Shi, M.D., Ph.D., Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Targeting Factor VIII (FVIII) Expression to Platelets for Gene Therapy of Hemophilia A with Inhibitors
2010
Alessandra Biffi, M.D., San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Milan, Italy
Rendering Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Efficacious for the Treatment of Lysosomal Disorders
Kevin V. Morris, Ph.D., Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
Utilizing the Endogenous Long Non-Coding RNA Pathway in Human Cells to Transcriptionally Modulate Gene Expression
Bakhos A. Tannous, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA
Ex-Vivo Monitoring of In Vivo Gene and Cell Therapy
Charles P. Venditti, M.D., Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Gene Therapy for Methylmalonic Acidemia (MMA)
2009
Renier J. Brentjens, M.D., Ph.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Treatment of B-cell Malignancies with CD19 Targeted T-cells
Barbara Savoldo, M.D., Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Improving T Cell Based Therapies
Tatiana Segura, Ph.D., University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Gene Delivery In Three Dimensions
2008
Karen S. Aboody, M.D., City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte CA
Stem Cell-Mediated Cancer Therapy: A Tumor-Selective Gene Delivery Approach
Maciej S. Lesniak, M.D., FACS, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Adenoviral Virotherapy for Malignant Brain Tumors
Dmitry M. Shayakhmetov, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Adenovirus-Host Interplay and the Development of Efficient Vectors for Gene Therapy
2007
Gianpietro Dotti, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Genetic Modifications of T Cells for Adoptive Immunotherapy in Cancer Patients
Akseli E. Hemminki, M.D., Ph.D., University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Oncolytic Adenoviruses for Killing of Cancer Initiating Cells
Philip Ng, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Gene Therapy with Helper-Dependant Adenoviral Vectors
Derek Persons, M.D., Ph.D., St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Progress Toward Safe and Effective Gene Therapy for β-Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease
2006
Alberto Auricchio, M.D., Telethon Institute of Genetics & Medicine, Napoli, Italy
AAV Serotypes for Gene Therapy of Inherited Human Diseases
Dongsheng Duan, Ph.D., University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO
Pushing the Limit: Making a Small Virus to Work for a Large Gene
Salima Hacein-Bey Abina, Ph.D., INSERM U 429, Paris, France
Gene Therapy for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency X1
Punam Malik, M.D., Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Gene Therapy for Red Blood Cell Disorders
2005
Chiara Bonini, M.D., Fondazione Centro S. Raffaele Del Monte Tabor, Milan, Italy
Gene Transfer into Peripheral Blood T Lymphocytes: Clinical Benefits and Safety Profile
Michael Kaplitt, M.D., Ph.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
Development of Human Gene Therapy for Neurodegenerative Disorders
2004
Michael A. Barry, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Cell-Targeting Technologies for Gene Therapy
Laurence JN Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA
T-cell Therapy for Malignant B Cells
Matthew Weitzman, Ph.D., Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA
Lessons from the Battleground of Virus-Host Interactions
2003
Alessandro Aiuti, M.D., Ph.D., Fondazione Centro San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Gene Therapy for ADA-Deficient SCID
Roland W. Herzog, Ph.D., Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Immunology of Factor IX Gene Transfer
Christof von Kalle, M.D., Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH
Vector Insertion in Gene Modified Human Hematopoiesis