Jude Samulski

Dr. Jude Samulski received his PhD in medical microbiology and immunology from the University of Florida. His graduate work (1978-82) demonstrated the first use of AAV as a viral vector and culminated in the development of the first FDA AAV drug approved for blindness.  Dr. Samulski has worked with AAV for over 40 years, including a post doc with Dr Tom Shenk at Princeton, and, for 25 years, he was director of the University of North Carolina Gene Therapy Center. At UNC, he has focused on development of AAV as a gene delivery system, which has led to the first long-term gene delivery in humans. His development of novel AAV variants as alternative vectors and improvements in AAV production facilitated the first clinical trial for gene delivery to the brain and his development of the first chimeric AAV facilitated gene delivery for muscular dystrophy. He continues to derive delivery systems for safe, efficient use in human gene therapy to facilitate the progression and translation of gene therapy research into clinical trials for treatment of human diseases.

Dr. Samulski has advanced therapeutics into human clinical trials for hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, giant axonal neuropathy, Pompe, Canavan and heart failure. He published over 500 peer reviewed articles & holds more than 200 patents related to AAV technology.