U. Pittsburgh lands a $14 million grant to open a Gene Therapy Center - NEWS - Brief Article

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, Feb, 2001 by Al Branch

A $14 million, five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will allow the University of Pittsburgh to establish a gene therapy center that will provide researchers with the means to battle heart disease.

The Cardiovascular Gene Therapy Center at the university will conduct clinical trials, research, and training in the use of gene therapy to strengthen weak hearts in patients, according to officials.

"Our hope is that we'll be able to save some of them from getting a transplant," Dr. Arthur Feldman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Cardiovascular Institute, told the Associated Press. "Now we're taking it to a much broader audience, if you will, and looking at disease that affects millions of people rather than disease that affects hundreds of people. That's very exciting for the future of medical care."

Gene therapy involves introducing into the body new genes that contain therapeutic proteins meant to replace or alter cells that cause disease. Scientists initially envisioned it as a way to fight inherited or genetic diseases, according to AP. Genes are introduced into the body through "vectors" or gene transport systems, such as viruses, which can infect certain cells and deliver their genetic cargo to the body.

In addition to Pitt, the University of Washington, Cornell University, and Stanford University also received grants--though smaller than Pitt's--and all will share information and resources under the program, according to officials.

For more information, visit the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Web site at http://www.upmc.edu.