Education: Graduated from Quinnipiac University with a Bachelor’s of science in Biology in addition to minors in psychology and chemistry.

Research Projects: During undergrad, I worked with D. melanogaster to study the role of GPCR’s on salivary gland migration during embryonic development.

Research Interest: I find the work of the GTVC to be so interesting because it has the potential to influence research in so many fields. Having a hand in multiple projects at the ground level makes the work both exciting and rewarding.

Career Ambition: Return to graduate school and further my understanding in a more targeted field.

 

Ruchi Chauhan, Ph.D., is Associate Director at the Gene Transfer Vector Core (GTVC) located at the Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, USA. She is responsible for the oversight of GTVC team, which specializes in production of high-quality and scalable viral vectors for basic, preclinical, and translational research. Besides, Dr. Chauhan manages interactions with investigators, and addresses scientific, operational, safety, compliance, and financial matters of the Core.

Education Background
Dr. Chauhan has 20 years of professional experience in translational and pre-clinical research working in Cancer, Neurodegenerative, and Autoimmune diseases. She received Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and identified an ubiquitinylating enzyme-complex responsible for degrading the SMN protein in Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the Boston Children’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School. She did her postdoctoral work in developing Immunotherapy for Tauopathies and Alzheimer’s disease at the Merck, Boston. Following that she was a visiting scientist at the University of Cambridge, UK, and later worked as a scientist in validating engineered antibodies for preclinical Immuno-oncology program at the Compass Therapeutics, Boston. She has experience in Cell & molecular Biology, proteomics, biochemistry, high-throughput microscopy imaging, screening and validation assays. She has mentored researchers and students, developed scientific collaborations, and has published several peer reviewed research articles.

In addition, she has managed business development and operations in Technology transfer, Alliance development, and enabling Entrepreneurial ventures at the Harvard (USA) and Cambridge (UK) University. She has developed multi-stakeholders Data-management and Open Access programs and alliances as a Research funding manager at the Cancer Research UK. She is co-founder of NonExomics LLC, and has served as Director of operations at the Coalesenz Inc., Boston, MA

Research projects
At the Gene Transfer Vector Core facility, her goal is to enable the production of gene transfer vector technologies and supporting research in gene therapies for diseases with unmet need.

In addition, we have transformed overnight into meeting challenges of supporting COVID19-vaccine efforts at the Vandenberghe lab in response to solve this problem with urgency

Research interest
To develop state-of-the-art vector technologies yielding scalable, high-quality Gene transfer modalities for preclinical and clinical R&D

Career Ambition
To enable development and commercialization of transformative technologies and genetics-based therapeutics. To align our efforts at the GTVC in meeting unprecedented opportunities and challenges of our times (think targeted delivery of therapeutics in age of big-data, and COVID-19), and to bring therapeutics to patients. All the above goals require efficient management of resources including teamwork, funds and timelines.

Education: B.S. in Genetics with a minor in Psychology; The University of New Hampshire

Research Interest: Neurodegenerate diseases

Career Ambition: Genetic Counselor

Memberships: Alpha Chi Sigma