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THE CHRISTIANA CARE WAY
We partner in research that our patients and community value By Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., director, Gene Editing Institute at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center
At Christiana Care’s Gene Editing Institute, we serve together with the goal of
improving patients’ lives.
We are a translational research and development group, focused on using our molecular toolbox to edit DNA sequences that cause cancer and inherited diseases. Since our inception
on July 1, 2015, we have been fully embedded at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. To my knowledge, we’re the only gene editing research group in the country that’s working within a community cancer program.
While we spend most of our time in the laboratory and don’t participate directly in patient care, in our proximity we often witness the physical and emotional struggles of our neighbors who are battling cancer. We catch glimpses of hope and courage, tragedy and joy. We see the compassion and fierce determination of the extraordinary people – physicians, nurses, therapists and many others -- who provide comfort and support, and who, in service to their patients, bring to bear all of the tools that medi- cal science has to offer in the fight against cancer.
These experiences give us a special perspective that we wouldn’t be able to get in a university setting or traditional basic research center. We’re reminded every day of how important our work can be in the lives of real people. We’re connected to the clini- cians who will use the tools we create. We learn from them, and we collaborate. We have learned to take a more humanistic ap- proach to science, understanding that in the end, our work goes far beyond our laboratories. It’s all centered on patients.
We are immersed in The Christiana Care Way.
For 25 years, I’ve been investigating the basic mechanism sur- rounding the editing of mutant genes in human cells to disable genes that are driving cancer and to correct genes that are responsible for cancers and diseases such as sickle cell anemia.
We’ve been fortunate to have National Institutes of Health research funding for more than 20 years and appreciate that as a stamp of credibility on our approach. But historical success is not enough. Our success at the lab bench needs to be translated to the clinic, and that transition forms the basis of the transla- tional research ongoing at the Gene Editing Institute.
We must understand the full spectrum of the disease and how innovative therapies will make a difference in patients’ lives. The most remarkable therapy in the world is not going to help anyone unless it’s available and affordable.
To better understand patients’ point of view, we discuss our ideas early on with diverse stakeholders, including doctors, nurse nav- igators and patient advocates. They have taught us to look at the patient and the disease as a whole, not just a molecular process. Their insights are making us better scientists. We often remind ourselves that it’s about the patient, not the technology.
Our approach is attracting the support of others as our frontline research is recognized far beyond the walls of Christiana Care. We are still well-funded by NIH, as well as by generous individ- uals and organizations, including the Friends of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.
We have partnered successfully with The Wistar Institute of Philadelphia, among many others. We help research centers around the world in the design and implementation of gene edit- ing for both drug discovery and therapeutic applications.
We recently partnered with the Israeli biotechnology company NovellusDx, licensing our innovative technology to improve the speed and efficiency of the company’s cancer diagnostic screening tools. As a result, NovellusDx can identify the genetic mechanism responsible for both the onset and progression of many types of cancer and determine the most effective therapy. That means it will take less time to generate treatment options for physicians and patients.
Here in Delaware, we are exploring ways to use CRISPR/
Cas9 in clinical trials for lung cancer patients. We partner with Delaware Technical Community College to provide a gene editing curriculum for undergraduates. This innovative program was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to increase visibility of Delaware students in gene editing technology
and develop a stronger state workforce. We are home to many doctoral students pursuing a Ph.D. under my mentorship.
Because we openly discuss the patient, we are impacting the next generation of scientists and adding a new dynamic to our work.
As we move forward, the relationship between the bench and the bedside must grow even stronger.
Gene editing is not abstract. It’s not on the horizon; it’s over- head. People are being treated with gene editing for cancer and inherited diseases. New therapies in gene editing are in the not- too-distant future.
Through strategic partnerships and collaboration among researchers and clinicians, we serve our neighbors as respectful, expert, caring partners in their health. That’s The Christiana Care Way. ●
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