Next-gen vectors: advancing in vivo and ex vivo gene delivery through intelligent design

For over three decades, Nagy has been at the forefront of clinical research and clinical practice in cancer. He pioneered the first clinical trial in the use of adenovirus and plasmid for the treatment of liver cancer, as well as the use of plasmid gene therapy in hydrodynamic gene therapy delivery. He was the first in Europe to perform a clinical trial with the use of adult CD34+ stem cells in patients with liver failure and stroke.

Currently, Nagy is the CEO of Apterna Limited, a company focused on novel oligonucleotide delivery, and Dawn Therapeutics, specialising in gene therapy.

Nagy is also a Consultant Surgeon and Academic HPB Head at Imperial College London.

Dr John Maher is a clinically active consultant immunologist at Eastbourne Hospital and King’s Health Partners. While a visiting fellow in the laboratory of Michel Sadelain, he was the first to engineer and test second generation CAR-T technology in human T cells, building on the pioneering work of Helene Finney in the Jurkat model system. He established CAR T-cell research at King’s College London in 2004 where he leads the "CAR Mechanics" group, which is focused on the development of adoptive immunotherapy using CAR engineered and gamma delta T cells. He is chief investigator of a Phase I clinical trial in which a pan-ErbB targeted CAR-T that he developed is being evaluated in patients with refractory locally advanced/ recurrent head and neck cancer.

Carlo's research career began as a Research Assistant in the Department of Immunology at King’s College London (KCL), Guy’s Hospital, investigating protein-protein interactions in HIV infection. He continued at KCL as a PhD student under Professor Charles Kelly, focusing on the mechanisms of glycoprotein-mediated HIV infection.

Currently, Carlo serves as Director of Process Development, Innovation & Pre-Clinical at ViroCell Biologics, leading three teams comprising 16 specialists. The Pre-Clinical Projects team is a strategic unit within the ViroCell responsible for assessing client project feasibility and timelines, as well as producing viral vectors for pre-clinical / R&D activities.