Presenters: Prof Mauro Giacca and Dr Gang Li

Title: Gene and RNA transfer for cardiovascular research and therapy

The use of nucleic acids (coding and non-coding RNA, cDNA) has progressively become central in cardiovascular research, for both investigational and therapeutic purposes. As the cell plasma membrane constitutes a formidable barrier to hydrophobic and charged molecules such as DNA and RNA, technologies based on viral and non-viral delivery have been developed for efficient nucleic acid administration. This Workshop will describe the most recent advancements in the generation of cardiotropic AAV vectors and lipid nanoparticles and discuss their applications for gene therapy and gene editing.

Agenda:

• An introduction to gene and RNA therapy and gene editing
• AAV vectors: from biology to applications
• Lipid nanoparticles: production and applications of RNA delivery