The research in the Kohn lab focuses on the development of new methods to treated genetic diseases of blood cells by gene modification of hematopoietic stem cells. Dr. Kohn’s group was the first (and still the only one) to perform a clinical trial with gene transfer to umbilical cord blood CD34+ cells for a genetic disorder (ADA-SCID in 1993) and the first in the U.S. to initiate clinical trials of gene therapy for pediatric HIV/AIDS using bone marrow stem cells. Current projects include:

1. Performing clinical trials for ADA-deficient SCID, XSCID, Sickle Cell Disease and X-linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease
2. Developing new lentiviral vectors for regulated gene expression,
3. Advancing techniques for site-specific gene editing for sickle cell disease and primary immune deficiency diseases
4. Improving clinical hematopoietic stem cell processing.

Our research group spans the bench-to-bedside spectrum and provides an excellent training environment for physician/scientists.

Human T cell generation is restored in CD3δ severe combined immunodeficiency through adenine base editing. McAuley GE, Yiu G, Chang PC, Newby GA, Campo-Fernandez B, Fitz-Gibbon ST, Wu X, Kang SL, Garibay A, Butler J, Christian V, Wong RL, Everette KA, Azzun A, Gelfer H, Seet CS, Narendran A, Murguia-Favela L, Romero Z, Wright N, Liu DR, Crooks GM, Kohn DB. Cell. 2023. 186:1398-1416.e23. PMID: 36944331

Lentiviral Gene Therapy for X-Linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease Recapitulates Endogenous CYBB Regulation and Expression. Wong RL, Sackey S, Brown D, Senadheera S, Masiuk K, Quintos JP, Colindres N, Riggan L, Morgan RA, Malech HL, Hollis RP, Kohn DB. Blood. 2022 Nov 4:blood. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36332160

Autologous Ex Vivo Lentiviral Gene Therapy for Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency. Kohn DB, Booth C, Shaw KL, Xu-Bayford J, Garabedian E, Trevisan V, Carbonaro-Sarracino DA, Soni K, Terrazas D, Snell K, Ikeda A, Leon-Rico D, Moore TB, Buckland KF, Shah AJ, Gilmour KC, De Oliveira S, Rivat C, Crooks GM, Izotova N, Tse J, Adams S, Shupien S, Ricketts H, Davila A, Uzowuru C, Icreverzi A, Barman P, Campo Fernandez B, Hollis RP, Coronel M, Yu A, Chun KM, Casas CE, Zhang R, Arduini S, Lynn F, Kudari M, Spezzi A, Zahn M, Heimke R, Labik I, Parrott R, Buckley RH, Reeves L, Cornetta K, Sokolic R, Hershfield M, Schmidt M, Candotti F, Malech HL, Thrasher AJ, Gaspar HB. N Engl J Med. 2021 May 27;384(21):2002-2013. PMID: 33974366

Long-term outcomes after gene therapy for adenosine deaminase severe combined immune deficiency. Reinhardt B, Habib O, Shaw KL, Garabedian E, Carbonaro-Sarracino DA, Terrazas D, Fernandez BC, De Oliveira S, Moore TB, Ikeda AK, Engel BC, Podsakoff GM, Hollis RP, Fernandes A, Jackson C, Shupien S, Mishra S, Davila A, Mottahedeh J, Vitomirov A, Meng W, Rosenfeld AM, Roche AM, Hokama P, Reddy S, Everett J, Wang X, Luning Prak ET, Cornetta K, Hershfield MS, Sokolic R, De Ravin SS, Malech HL, Bushman FD, Candotti F, Kohn DB. Blood. 2021 Oct 14;138(15):1304-1316. PMID: 33974038

Lentiviral gene therapy for X-linked chronic granulomatous disease. Kohn DB, Booth C, Kang EM, Pai SY, Shaw KL, Santilli G, Armant M, Buckland KF, Choi U, De Ravin SS, Dorsey MJ, Kuo CY, Leon-Rico D, Rivat C, Izotova N, Gilmour K, Snell K, Dip JX, Darwish J, Morris EC, Terrazas D, Wang LD, Bauser CA, Paprotka T, Kuhns DB, Gregg J, Raymond HE, Everett JK, Honnet G, Biasco L, Newburger PE, Bushman FD, Grez M, Gaspar HB, Williams DA, Malech HL, Galy A, Thrasher AJ; Net4CGD consortium. Nat Med. 2020 Feb;26(2):200-206. PMID: 31988463

Editing the Sickle Cell Disease Mutation in Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells: Comparison of Endonucleases and Homologous Donor Templates. Romero Z, Lomova A, Said S, Miggelbrink A, Kuo CY, Campo-Fernandez B, Hoban MD, Masiuk KE, Clark DN, Long J, Sanchez JM, Velez M, Miyahira E, Zhang R, Brown D, Wang X, Kurmangaliyev YZ, Hollis RP, Kohn DB. Mol Ther. 2019 Aug 7;27(8):1389-1406. PMID: 31178391