Hyderabad|India|December'2009: Professor Inder M Verma, Professor, Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, SALK Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, USA delivered the University of Hyderabad Distinguished Lecture on 8th December 2009 titled “Gene and Cell Therapy: Medicine of 21st Century” at the DST Auditorium.

Professor Verma explained the ways of introducing genes into the bodies—physical and chemical methods as well as biological methods. He also explained as to how the viruses act as a vehicle for gene transfer. Prof. Verma also spoke on the introduction of stem cells into the body which can produce proteins. He also talked about the application of vectors, gene therapy, etc. for the Alzheimer’s Disease, Leukaemia and various types of cancers. He mentioned the various mechanisms relating to combining gene therapy with cell therapy. He gave a brief on the action of Stem cells for correction of genetic difficulty.

Professor Verma, a professor in Salk Institute Laboratory of Genetics, has made outstanding advances in research ranging from cancer biology to development of gene transfer technologies. He is one of the world’s leading authorities in gene therapy, having developed a gene therapy vector, based on a stripped-down version of HIV, which successfully delivers genes for therapeutic purposes. His group also studies two genes implicated in familial breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, and recently demonstrated that their action is linked to the cell division cycle, and that BRCA1 regulates gene activity. An American Cancer Society Professor, Professor Verma is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, American Philosophical Society, Third World Academy of Sciences and the recipient of the 2007 Cozzarelli Prize and 2008 Vilcek Prize. He is also the recipient of American Society of Gene Therapy’s (ASGT) Outstanding Achievement Award for 2009. He is only the second scientist honoured with the Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award. The award recognizes an ASGT member who has conducted groundbreaking research or achieved a lifetime of significant scientific contributions to the field of gene therapy. Professor Verma is the first incumbent of the Irwin Mark Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Sciences. Established to honor its namesake’s exceptional leadership in business and philanthropy, the honor is given to an internationally renowned senior Salk scientist who has made extraordinary discoveries in basic biomedical research and has contributed to the direction and vitality of the Institute.

Professor Verma is an M.Sc.-Biochemistry from Lucknow University and has done his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. He received his postdoctoral training in Biology under David Baltimore (Nobel Laureate), Massachusetts Institute of Technology.