Author: The Wistar Institute

More than 200 attendees joined in-person and virtually from around the world to hear from 2023 Nobel Laureate Drew Weissman, M.D., Ph.D. — Wistar’s 2024 Jonathan Lax Memorial Awardee, Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research, Director of Vaccine Research, and Director of the Institute for RNA Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania. As the recipient of the 28th annual Jonathan Lax Memorial Award, Dr. Weissman was honored for his contributions to HIV research, which he presented in this year’s lecture, “Development of novel therapies based on RNA: from COVID vaccines to anti-HIV strategies.”

Before the award ceremony began, Wistar president and CEO Dario Altieri, M.D., addressed the audience with a special announcement: Wistar’s $24 million investment in the HIV Cure and Viral Diseases Center was to be led by founding director and executive vice president Luis Montaner, D.V.M., D.Phil. Speaking to the importance of the moment for HIV research, Dr. Altieri emphasized the need to build on the progress made so far:

“Wistar’s HIV program has grown dramatically throughout its twenty-five-year duration, with members and participating institutions spanning the world. So the question for us is, how do we build on this legacy of accomplishments? I am absolutely ecstatic to be able to announce today—fittingly at the Jonathan Lax Memorial Lecture—the creation and launch of the new HIV Cure and Viral Diseases Center. We look forward to the leadership of Dr. Luis Montaner in bringing the new HIV Cure and Viral Diseases Center to new heights of collaboration, impact, and innovation.”

Following Dr. Altieri’s historic announcement, longtime CEO of Philadelphia FIGHT Jane Shull introduced the Jonathan Lax Lecture through a history of the people & activism behind today’s advances in HIV medicines. In speaking on the need for continued investment in science, Ms. Shull meditated on the nature of hope and what it meant to people like Jonathan Lax in the days before effective HIV treatments, let alone a cure.

She quoted former president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel: “Hope is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.”

After receiving the Jonathan Lax Memorial Award, Dr. Weissman’s lecture highlighted the long journey of RNA from its discovery in the 60s to its role in mitigating the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The technology took years of refinement, Dr. Weissman said, but is now poised to transform several fields in human health — including, prominently, HIV cure research.

One key advantage of modern RNA approaches that use lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery is their comparative affordability as a scalable therapeutic. For example, the Weissman lab is developing strategies that use RNA as an alternative method for programming anti-HIV CAR T cells, which are a critical component of HIV cure strategies at Wistar and through the BEAT-HIV Collaboratory.

RNA-based approaches to CAR T cell therapy offer the potential to bypass the current ex vivo cell engineering process that can cause toxicity in patients — and at significant lower cost per-patient when compared to current approaches. As Dr. Weissman said, pointing to global population and resource-distribution maps, “Diseases are where the people are — but the people are not necessarily where the money is. So getting treatments everywhere around the world where they’re needed means finding treatments that are workable at scale.” At the conclusion of his talk, Dr. Weissman received a rousing standing ovation.

The June 4, 2024 event recognized President’s Society members for their contributions to the Institute.

Nearly 100 steadfast members of Wistar’s President’s Society and honored guests gathered at The Wistar Institute to attend this year’s President’s Society Dinner for an evening of community and reflections on the scientific journey. Dr. Dario Altieri, Wistar President & CEO, welcomed attendees and emphasized the importance of their support. “You are investing in what is yet to come – discoveries that have the potential to change human health,” he explained.

The event featured Keynote Speaker Dr. Paul Offit, world-renowned virologist and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. Offit, who completed a fellowship in Dr. Walter Gerhard’s lab at Wistar during the 1980s, told the audience about his path to science, and the importance of his lab experience. He attributed his success as a scientist to the formative experience he had performing basic research at Wistar.

“I was here for five years because I was just overwhelmed with the prospect of doing science. How amazing it was to be able to pursue a career in basic science,” he explained. “It was unlike anything I’d done before … The researchers in the lab took it upon themselves to teach me how to think like a scientist, and work like a scientist.”

Later in his career, Dr. Offit collaborated with Wistar scientists on work that contributed to the development of RotaTeq, a vaccine that is used to protect against rotavirus infections. The vaccine is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines.

Dr. Offit continued, “I just don’t know how much I can thank … all the people that were in the laboratory that were devoted to making me the scientist that I am.” He then took a moment to acknowledge Dr. Gerhard, who had returned to Wistar for the event.

Dr. Offit, who has authored more than 13 books, provided attendees with a signed copy of his latest, Tell Me When It’s Over: An Insider’s Guide to Deciphering Covid Myths and Navigating Our Post-Pandemic World.

The President’s Society Dinner is an annual event celebrating members of Wistar’s President’s Society, a dedicated community of supporters who provide essential, annual funding to The Wistar Institute. Visit us online to learn more about the benefits of becoming a member.

To view a gallery of the event, please visit here.

Dr. Pratima Saini, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen. She talked about her journey to becoming a scientist.

“When I saw so many women around me doing amazing research, I had faith that I could do it too.”

Did you always know that you wanted to become a scientist?

I would say yes. In high school I already had interest in biology and thought I would pursue it as a profession. For some reason I knew that I didn’t want to be a doctor or an engineer. As I learned more, I realized that I would like to be a researcher, because it would always give me the opportunity to answer unsolved questions. I knew that would drive me. Every day is exciting, and that’s why I love it.

What sparked your interest in biology?

When I was studying the bodily processes, I learned how a calcium molecule can initiate signaling, and I was like, “Oh, wow.” I had never thought about calcium this way. At that moment, I realized that even a small molecule can be involved in this very important process, and that’s it’s very tightly regulated. That’s when I realized that I want to learn more about this field.

Did you have any mentors as a young scientist?

When I was doing my master’s degree, my home was very far from my lab. I had to take a bus around two hours each way, so it was four hours commuting every day. My PI (at that time), when he found out how far I was traveling he told me, “Probably you won’t see it now, but this will pay off somewhere in your life. Remember my words: this commute, although you don’t see a direct impact yet, your hard work will be worth it.” So when I came to the U.S., and I got this position at Wistar, at that moment I realized, ah, it’s because of the hard work I put in when I went to that college.

What attracted you to Wistar?

I’m very much interested in glycobiology. I’m always interested in how glycans play a role in the immune response, but they are rarely studied. So when I came across Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen’s lab, I thought, “Oh, this research is good.” His lab studies how each individual’s glycans are different, and how our glycans cause our bodies to respond differently to invading pathogens. For example, my glycans are different from your glycans, and my body would respond differently to an invading pathogen than your body would. When I came to the lab, he gave me a project about COVID, and we found out that, indeed, the kind of glycans I have would govern how severe my COVID would be.

What is it like working at Wistar?

When I came to Wistar, I thought that because the researchers and scientists were so prominent, they wouldn’t have time for you. Everyone would be so busy. But I found that everyone is so approachable. If you go to someone with your problem, they give you the time, sit with you, and help you. They don’t judge you by how many publications you have, they just perceive you as a person with ideas.

What is a typical day like for you?

My lab has a very good work-life balance culture, so I usually come in around 9:30 and then get to work. Mostly I work on human samples, so I would usually check how the immune response is going in those samples against viral pathogens or maybe against cancer because currently I’m working on a cancer project. After that, I often attend one of the talks that happen at Wistar and the University of Pennsylvania. Then around 6 p.m. I like to leave, have some tea, and then go do some exercise.

What do you find most rewarding about what you do?

We have this hypothesis, and when things are not working, I think, “No, there’s some way it should work. I’m missing some detail.” You read what other people are doing, you go back to the bench, you try something different, and then, the next day, or the next week, it works! When you solve a problem like that, it feels like the biggest achievement in the short term. Long term, sometimes I see a big problem, and I think, my God, I am never going to solve this one. But Mohamed always says, break it into small pieces, so that at every step you feel that accomplishment. In that way, you go from a small excitement to a bigger one.

What does diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you, and why do you think it’s important in science?

I’m from India. Even though my parents supported my journey, sometimes people would ask me, oh, you’re a woman? Will you be able to pursue a long path to be a scientist? When I came here to Wistar, the culture was so inclusive. Everyone feels heard. When I saw so many women around me doing amazing research, I had faith that I could do it too. It was very inspiring to see that people from all races and genders are here doing equally well. I also think diversity is very important in science because people from different backgrounds have different experiences and perspectives. When these points of view come together, then we can solve problems much better.

Do you have any hobbies or passions outside of your work?

Because I came to the U.S., I want to see as much of it as I can while I am here. So on the weekends, I enjoy going out and doing any kind of outdoor activity. I like camping, hiking, and seeing all kinds of different places.