David T. Curiel, MD, PhD

Dr. Curiel was born in New York and later educated in Atlanta, where he received his MD from the Emory University School of Medicine in 1982 and completed his residency training in internal medicine. Between 1985-1990, he completed fellowships at the NIH in the Pulmonary Branch of the Heart and Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and in Biotechnology at the National Cancer Institute, working with the first pioneers of human gene therapy. In 1991, Curiel moved to the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, where he served as Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Diseases and participated in the earliest efforts in the gene therapy as a treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. In 1993, Curiel was recruited to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to establish a new gene therapy program for cancer. During this 18-year tenure at UAB, he directed the Gene Therapy Center (GTC) and the Division of Human Gene Therapy. He held the Jeanne and Ann Griffin Chair for Women's Cancer Research and developed many novel therapies for women’s cancer and shepherded their translation into human clinical trials. Currently, Curiel is currently Director of Cancer Biology and the Biologic Therapeutics Center (BTC) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He holds a PhD from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands where he has maintained active clinical trials over two decades. He is a recognized leader in the field of vector development and in bench-to-bed translation of gene therapy vaccine and virotherapy interventions.

Igor Dmitriev, PhD

Dr. Igor Dmitriev is a Research Assistant Professor in the Cancer Biology Division, Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Dr. Dmitriev received his Ph.D. from Institute of Molecular Biology SPA “VECTOR” (Koltsovo, Russian Federation) in 1994. Before joining the Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University, he worked for 14 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham doing research at the Gene Therapy Center. Dr. Dmitriev has background in basic virology with expertise in the development of gene delivery vectors based on recombinant adenoviruses for gene therapy and immunization. In his free time, he enjoys taking longs walks and watching movies.

Sergey Kaliberov, MD, PhD

Dr. Kaliberov is a Research Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Cancer Biology at the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

He received his M.D. from Tomsk State Medical Institute in the Russian Federation. After graduation, he worked at the Institute of Molecular Biology “Vector” and received his Ph.D. in virology in 1996. Over the past decade, he has worked in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Since 2011, when he joined the Radiation Oncology Department at Washington University School of Medicine, the focus of his research projects was primarily in developing gene therapy approaches using tissue-specific or cancer-targeted adenoviral-based vector systems in order to improve efficacy of current cancer therapy strategies.

Lyudmila Kaliberova, MD

Lyudmila is a Staff Scientist in Dr. Curiel’s lab, her projects are primary focused on development and evaluation of novel vector systems for the achievement of targeted, cell-specific gene delivery. She is currently involved in genetic modification of the fiber and other proteins of the adenovirus shell to provide specific gene delivery to clinically relevant target cells and tissue types by using both replication-defective transcriptional and transductional retargeted adenoviral vectors as well as armed conditionally replicating adenoviruses for cancer therapy.

She received her M.D. from Tomsk State Medical Institute in the Russian Federation. After graduation she worked at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Novosibirsk region, Russia. Prior to joining the Radiation Oncology Department at Washington University in Saint Louis, she was doing research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Human Gene Therapy , Department of Medicine and Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology.

In her free time she loves spending time with her family and friends, enjoys movies, books, concerts and traveling.

Elena Kashentseva

Elena is a Senior Research Technician with broad expertise in tissue culture, protein expression, and adenovirus vector generation. She completed her B.S. in Biology from Pedagogical University in Novosibirsk, Russian Federation. She worked for 13 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham doing research in the Gene Therapy Center before joining Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and reading good fiction.

Will Everett

Will Everett is an MD/PhD student who joined the lab in 2013. His project focuses on using the methods of gene therapy to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with radiation therapy. Before joining the lab, he received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Applied Mathematics from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, powerlifting, and studying classical history and languages.

Calvin Stephens

Calvin is a Molecular Genetics and Genomics PhD student who joined the Curiel lab in the Spring of 2014. His current work is focused on reducing vector toxicity by increased efficiency of targeting using single domain antibodies, as well as the delivery of anti-angiogenesis molecules in cancer models. He completed his BS in Biological Sciences with a focus in Immunology and Microbiology from Virginia Tech in 2013, where he studied microsatellite repeats in Huntington’s disease. He enjoys many outdoor activities such as hiking, rock climbing, and hunting. When he’s not in the lab or outside, Calvin is an avid reader and an enthusiastic consumer of all kinds of food.

Hideyo Ugai, PhD

Dr. Hideyo Ugai is a Research Instructor in Cancer Biology Division, Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Ugai received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokushima in Japan in 2003. Dr. Ugai joined in the Curiel lab in 2004 to research cancer gene therapy using recombinant adenoviruses. His research focuses on the development and assessment of adenovirus vectors for cancer treatment and RNAi.

In his free time, Hideyo loves cooking and shopping.

Chris Towe, MD

Dr. Towe is a Pediatric Pulmonary Fellow who joined the Curiel lab in 2011. His focus is targeting the pulmonary vascular endothelium with modified Adenovirus to deliver therapeutic genes. He received undergraduate degrees in Biology and Mechanical Engineering from Baylor University in Waco, TX before attending medical school at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX. Dr. Towe completed his pediatric residency training at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and is a board certified general pediatrician. His prior research has focused on improving clinical outcomes in pediatric lung transplant. In his spare time, Chris likes to cook, spend time with his family and work with international foreign exchange students.

Junji Uchino, MD, PhD

Dr. Junji Uchino is a Senior Research Technician who joined the Curiel lab in April 2012. His projects focus on the development and assessment of adenoviral vectors for cancer therapy and RNA interference (RNAi).

He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Nagasaki University in 1999 and later worked as a pulmonologist at Kyushu University Hospital from 1999 to 2010. During his tenure at Kyushu University, he researched hTERT Promoter-based Conditionally Replicative Adenoviruses for SCLC treatment and completed his Ph.D. in 2006. He has worked as an associate professor at the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Fukuoka University since 2010.

In his free time, he enjoys playing with his two children and exploring St. Louis.

Maurizio Buggio, PhD

Dr. Buggio is a postdoctoral research associate investigating gene therapy strategies for acute radiation syndrome countermeasures and new techniques for long term expression gene therapy.

Before joining our lab, he completed his M.Sc. in Biomolecular and Cellular Sciences at University of Ferrara. He spent half of his PhD program working at CIMA (Center of Advanced Medicine Research) of Navarra University with Dr. Jesus Prieto. In 2011 he finished his PhD at the University of Padova focusing in long term expression gene therapy and hepatology.

In his free time, Maurizio loves cooking and spending time with friends and family.

Slava Kler, PhD

Dr. Stanislav Kler is a Post Doctoral Research Associate. He works on development of adenovirus-based gene therapy for xerostomia, a frequent side effect of external beam radiation treatment for head and neck cancer.

He received his PhD in 2012 from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, where he studied assembly of simian virus 40.

In his free time, Stanislav enjoys reading books, bike riding and cooking.

Liz van Erp, MS

Ms. Van Erp is a visiting researcher from the Netherlands who joined the Curiel lab in 2014. Her research project focuses on the replication efficacy of single domain antibody-retargeted adenoviral vectors. This six-month research project is part of her Master’s program Infection & Immunity at the Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Science (GSLS). She received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences from Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

In her spare time Liz enjoys music in different ways; she likes to visit concerts and festivals and she also plays the piano. She loves sports, especially snowboarding and playing rugby. Liz was part of the Dutch National Women’s Rugby team before she left for St. Louis.

Felipe Alves Morais, PhD

Dr. Morais is a visiting researcher from Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP) where he works in the Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Hematology under the mentorship of Sérgio Paulo Bydlowski, M.D.,Ph.D. His research focus is currently centered on gene therapy for b-cell malignancy. In addition, he is developing gene transfer for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) antibodies through funding by Ciência sem Fronteiras (CNPq).

Janice Burch

Executive Assistant to David T. Curiel
Division of Cancer Biology
Biologic Therapeutics Center
Department of Radiation Oncology
Washington University School of Medicine

Cynthia L. Marich, MLitt

Special Programs Associate
Biologic Therapeutics Center
Department of Radiation Oncology
Washington University School of Medicine

Lauren Wilson

Research Assistant
Division of Cancer Biology
Biologic Therapeutics Center
Department of Radiation Oncology
Washington University School of Medicine