The University of Virginia (UVA) will establish a new gene therapy center with a major philanthropic contribution from technology entrepreneur and investor Vishal Suri and his wife, Anubha Suri, to accelerate research into treatments for complex diseases.
The gift will launch the Suri Center for Gene Therapy within UVA’s Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. It will combine the university’s expertise in genetic research with nanotechnology, RNA and focused ultrasound to develop safer and more effective gene therapies and accelerate their delivery to patients.
Vishal Suri said they chose UVA because of its biomedical research, health care and clinical capabilities, including the university’s National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, the first of its kind in Virginia.
“Our hope is that the Suri Center for Gene Therapy will help turn promising advances in genetic science into treatments that can change patients’ lives,” Suri said.
The center will strengthen UVA’s existing genetic research program, which is investigating potential approaches to a range of diseases, including pediatric epilepsy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common inherited heart condition.
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Researchers are also exploring ways to correct disease-causing genetic mutations, address limitations in cancer treatments and develop approaches to protect the brain against neurodegenerative diseases.
UVA President Scott C. Beardsley said the contribution would provide important resources for the university’s research efforts and reinforce its commitment to advancing patient care in Virginia and beyond.
Mark T. Esser, chief scientific officer and head of the Manning Institute, said the funding would help researchers move genetic discoveries toward potential medical applications more quickly.
A central focus of the new center will be addressing one of the major challenges in gene therapy: delivering treatments to the specific cells or tissues where they are needed while minimizing unwanted side effects. The Manning Institute’s existing capabilities in nanotechnology, drug delivery and commercialization will support this work.
The center will also draw on UVA’s research into focused ultrasound, which uses precisely directed sound waves to guide drugs toward targeted areas. UVA and its Comprehensive Cancer Center already house FUSION, the Focused Ultrasound Immuno-Oncology Center.
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According to the university, it is the world’s first center specifically dedicated to using focused ultrasound to enhance the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Another resource is UVA’s Institute for Nanoscale Scientific and Technological Advanced Research, which develops nanoscale devices and drug-delivery mechanisms.
These technologies operate at dimensions measured in billionths of a meter and are designed to transport therapies with greater precision. The university said these capabilities could offer new possibilities for delivering gene therapies to targeted locations in the body.
Esser, who is also the Thomas A. Saunders III Family Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished University Professor, said the center would build on the university’s existing scientific capabilities to advance research intended to benefit patients in Virginia and around the world.
The university said the contribution would strengthen the Manning Institute’s mission of accelerating the development of medicines for complex diseases. The initiative also supports UVA’s broader commitment to expanding biotechnology research across the university, region and state.