Prof. Anna Kajaste-Rudnitski University of Pavia, Italy

Anna Kajaste-Rudnitski (AKR) performed her PhD studies at the Pasteur Institute, Paris, France and obtained her degree at University Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Paris, France in 2006. She conducted her postdoctoral studies on innate antiviral immunity at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy from 2006 to 2012 and became and independent... read moreinvestigator at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy in 2012. She is Full Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Pavia, Italy, since October 2023. The AKR Lab studies the molecular mechanisms of host-vector interplay and innate immunity in the context of gene therapy, pathological conditions of the central nervous systems and autoimmune diseases. The long-term goal is to provide insight into how pathogen recognition and consequent innate immune signalling may affect efficacy and safety of gene therapy approaches in clinically relevant target cells as well as to shed light on how these same pathways may contribute to autoimmune and inflammatory pathologies. AKR has been an ERC Consolidator Grantee and was recently awarded an ERC Advanced Grant. She received the Outstanding New Investigator Award from the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy in 2019. Overall, her studies have significantly contributed to the emerging field of innate immune hurdles to gene therapy and provide insight for the development of innovative cell and gene therapies and to fight infectious and autoimmune diseases in the future.