Marina Cerezuela

My current research within the Gene Medicine group aims to develop new gene therapies to cure lung diseases, specifically those involving mutations in the human SFTPB gene. This gene encodes for surfactant protein B (SP-B), a protein essential to surfactant, needed to prevent alveolar collapse.

Mutations in the SFTPB gene are generally fatal in new-born infants and traditional surfactant protein replacement or other ventilatory support are not effective therapies. Our team is developing novel therapies based on lentiviral gene transfer to correct these mutations at a genetic level and provide a life-long cure for patients. My research is funded by the Wellcome Trust.

I hold a BSc in Biotechnology and a MSc in Medical Genetics and Genomics. Prior to joining the Gene Medicine group, I was an Associate Scientist at Oxford Genetics (OXGENE) within the lentiviral vector group. During this time, I established a high-throughput lentiviral production platform combining cell culture techniques and robotics to sustain the growing market demand for these breakthrough therapeutics.