Pedro Lowenstein, PhD
Director, Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute
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Institute Affiliation
| Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute |
Academic Appointments
| Professor, Medicine |
| Professor, Molecular and Medical Pharmacology |
Awards and Activities
| Elected Member, Association of American Physicians (AAP) | 2007 |
| Chair, ZRGI NDBG-E09 Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, NIH | 2006 |
| Bram and Elaine Goldsmith Endowed Chair in Gene Therapeutics | 2003 |
| Associate Editor: Molecular Therapy | Current |
| Founding Editor, Editor-in-Chief: Current Gene Therapy | 2001 - 2003 |
| American Society for Gene Therapy, Member, Chair, Neural Disorder Committee (2003-2005) | 2001 |
| American Association for Cancer Research, Member | 2006 |
Research Focus
Investigate the cellular and molecular basis of brain-immune responses and their manipulation to treat viral infections and tumors. Engineer the brain micro-environment, using viral vectors to deliver cytokines, chemokines and transcription factors, to create lymphatics, and recruit dendritic cells to the brain. Develop non invasive imaging technologies to track immune brain responses in vivo. Novel anti-cancer therapies.
Research Contributions
Development of novel gene therapy strategies and vectors to be used for the implementation of clinical trials for brain cancer in humans. Developed novel imaging modalities which uncovered the existence of immunological synapses in vivo. Developed novel preclinical models and therapeutics for cancer.
Current investigations include:
Cellular and molecular basis of brain-immune responses and their manipulation to eliminate viral infections and treat tumors in the central nervous system. Novel genetic cancer models.
Selected Publications
- Barcia C, Wawrowsky K, Barrett RJ, Liu C, Castro MG, Lowenstein PR: In vivo polarization of IFN-gamma at Kupfer and non-Kupfer immunological synapses during the clearance of virally infected brain cells. J. Immunol., 180(3): 1344-52, 2008
- Barcia C, Thomas CE, Curtin JF, King GD, Wawrowsky K, Candolfi M, Xiong WD, Liu C, Kroeger K, Boyer O, Kupiec-Weglinski J, Klatzmann D, Castro MG, Lowenstein PR: In vivo mature immunological synapses forming SMACs mediate clearance of virally infected astrocytes from the brain. J. Exp. Med., 203(9): 2095-107, 2006
- Ali S, King GD, Curtin JF, Candolfi M, Xiong W, Liu C, Puntel M, Cheng Q, Prieto J, Ribas A, Kupiec-Weglinski J, van Rooijen N, Lassmann H, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG: Combined immunostimulation and conditional cytotoxic gene therapy provide long-term survival in a large glioma model. Cancer Res., 65(16): 7194-204, 2005
- Dewey RA, Morrissey G, Cowsill CM, Stone D, Bolognani F, Dodd NJ, Southgate TD, Klatzmann D, Lassmann H, Castro MG, Löwenstein PR: Chronic brain inflammation and persistent herpes simplex virus 1 thymidine kinase expression in survivors of syngeneic glioma treated by adenovirus-mediated gene therapy: implications for clinical trials. Nat. Med., 5(11): 1256-63, 1999
