André Lieber, MD, PhD | Division of Medical Genetics

Professor

Medical Genetics

Adjunct Professor

Pathology

Faculty Information

Biography

In 1994, I joined Mark Kay’s newly established Gene Therapy group in Seattle as a postdoctoral fellow of the Germany Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and German Research Society (DFG). In 1998, I became an independent investigator at the level of Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Genetics. In 2010, I was promoted to full professor, in 2015 “with tenure”.

In 2010, I co-founded a start-up company, through which we have raised money for two clinical trials with cancer co-therapeutics that were developed in my laboratory.

From 2013 to 2016, I was the Secretary of the American Society of Stem Cell and Gene Therapy, where I was largely responsible for the abstract review process and the poster and oral presentation program. I regularly serve on NIH study sections and I am on the editorial board of 4 gene therapy-related journals. I am dedicated to motivating students for a medical research career. During the past ten years, I have supervised 17 post-docs, 6 graduate students, 23 undergraduate students, and 5 visiting scientists.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Education & Training:

Second Medical Institute

Moscow, Russia

1987

PhD

Humboldt University

Berlin, Germany

1992

Honors:

Elected Member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation

2004

Contact

Email:

lieber00@u.washington.edu

Phone:

(206) 221-3973

Mailing Address:

University of Washington

Division of Medical Genetics

1705 NE Pacific St

Box 357720

Seattle, WA 98195-7720

Research & Clinical Interests

Research Interests:

My lab has been working on the biology and translational aspects of human adenoviruses for more than two decades. We have capitalized on mechanisms evolved by adenoviruses to establish infection and developed new approaches for the treatment of cancer and genetic blood diseases involving recombinant adenovirus proteins. Two of these approaches will be tested in cancer patients in the next two years.
More recently, we have developed a new technology that allows for the in vivo genome engineering of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). It involves the mobilization of HSCs from the bone marrow and intravenous injection of integrating helper-dependent adenovirus vectors with tropism to HSCs. We are currently testing this technology for gene therapy of thalassemia, and hemophilia in animal models. More ambitious plans involve in vivo HSC transduction for cancer prophylaxis in patients with high risk germ-line mutations.

Publications

Publications:

Shayakhmetov D. M., Papayannopoulou T., Stamatoyannopoulos G., Lieber, A. (2000) Efficient gene transfer into human CD34+ cells by a retargeted adenovirus vector. Journal of Virology 74:2567-83.

Gaggar, A., Shayakhmetov, D.M., Lieber, A. (2003) CD46 is a cellular receptor for group B adenovirus. Nature Medicine, 9: 1408-12

Li Z, Liu Y, Tuve S, Xun Y, Fan X, Min L, Feng Q, Kiviat N, Kiem HP, Disis ML, Lieber A. (2009) Toward a stem cell gene therapy for breast cancer. Blood, 113(22):5423-33.

Wang H., Liu Y., Li ZY, Liang M, Lieber A. (2009) A recombinant adenovirus type 35 fiber knob protein sensitizes lymphoma cells to rituximab therapy. Blood, 115(3):592-600

Wang, H., Li ZY., Liu Y., Persson J., Beyer I., Möller T., Koyuncu, D., Drescher M.R., Strauss R., Zhang XB., Wahl JK, Urban N., Drescher C., Hemminki A., Fender P., Lieber A. (2011) Desmoglein 2 is a receptor for adenovirus serotypes 3, 7, 11, and 14. Nature Medicine, 17(1):96-104.

Beyer I, van Rensburg R, Strauss R, Li Z, Wang H, Persson J, Yumul R, Feng Q, Song H, Bartek J, Fender P, Lieber A. (2011) Epithelial Junction Opener JO-1 Improves Monoclonal Antibody Therapy of Cancer. Cancer Research, 71(22):7080-90.

Richter M., Yumul R., Wang H., Saydaminova K., Ho M., May D., Baldessari A., Gough M., Drescher C., Urban N., Roffler S., Zubieta C., Carter D., Fender P., Lieber A. (2015) Preclinical safety and efficacy studies with an affinity-enhanced epithelial junction opener and PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin, Molecular Therapeutics: Methods and Clinical Development, 2:15005.

Saydaminova K., Ye X., Wang H., Richter M., Chen H., Xu N., Kim J., Papapetrou E., Holmes M., Gregory P., Palmer D., Ng P., Ehrhardt A., Lieber A. (2015) Efficient genome editing in hematopoietic stem cells with helper-dependent Ad5/35 vectors expressing site-specific endonucleases under microRNA regulation. Molecular Therapeutics: Methods and Clinical Development, 1:14057.

Richter M, Saydaminova K, Yumul R, Krishnan R, Liu J, Nagy EE, Singh M, Izsvák Z, Cattaneo R, Uckert W, Palmer D, Ng P, Haworth KG, Kiem HP, Ehrhardt A, Papayannopoulou T, Lieber A. (2106) In vivo transduction of primitive mobilized hematopoietic stem cells after intravenous injection of integrating adenovirus vectors. Blood, 128:2206-2217.

Wang H, Georgakopoulou A, Psatha N, Li C, Capsali C, Samal HB, Anagnostopoulos A, Ehrhardt A, Izsvak Z, Papayannopoulou T, et al. In vivo hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy ameliorates murine thalassemia intermedia. J Clin Invest. 2019;129(2):598-615.

Wang H, Liu Z, Li C, Gil S, Papayannopoulou T, Doering CB, and Lieber A. High-level protein production in erythroid cells derived from in vivo transduced hematopoietic stem cells. Blood Adv. 2019;3(19):2883-94.

Li C, Course MM, McNeish IA, Drescher CW, Valdmanis PN, and Lieber A. Prophylactic in vivo hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor reverses tumor growth in syngeneic mouse tumor models. Cancer Res. 2020, 80(3):549-560

Li C, Wang H, Germond A, Ung A, Guerriero K, Ogle J, Nelson V, Jeffrey D, Coles C, Georgakopoulou A, et al. In vivo HSC gene therapy for hemoglobinopathies: a proof of concept evaluation in rhesus macaques. 23rd Annula ASCGT meeting. 2020;abstract #1700

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