Pioneers in the Development of Gene and Cellular Immunotherapies
The Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy (CGCI) at Washington University School of Medicine is internationally recognized for developing and offering some of the most innovative gene and cellular immunotherapies available to patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
Our mission is to:
- Identify and develop novel gene and cellular therapies (CAR-T, TCR-T, Viral CTLs, and NK cells) with the goal of improving efficacy and advancing these therapies from bench to bedside while also decreasing side effects associated with these immunotherapies
- Design and conduct innovative clinical trials in house and in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, thereby offering the newest and most promising options to our patients as rapidly as possible, either in clinical trials or as standard of care
- Enhance the standard of care for all patients through the identification of proven therapies and the sharing of best practices
Scientists here developed the first CRISPR gene-edited and fratricide-resistant off-the-shelf CAR T for the treatment of T cell malignancies.
Physicians here also were among the first in the United States to offer CAR T-cell therapy for specific types of acute lymphoblastic leukemia as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults.
The Center also is home to a robust translational research and clinical program focused on advancing novel NK cell-based therapies from the laboratory and into early phase clinical trials.