Education Background:

• M.S. in Nutrition and Metabolism: Boston University, USA
• M.Sc. in Nutrition and Dietetics: University College for Women, India
• B.Sc. in Applied Nutrition and Public Health: St. Ann’s College for Women, India

Research Projects: Gene therapy research, including AAV production, plasmid cloning, quality control through droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), and SDS-PAGE assays

Research Interest: My aim is to combine nutrition and gene therapy to develop treatments that address the underlying causes of diseases, focusing on cures that integrate dietary and genetic approaches.

Career Ambition: Aspiring to integrate my knowledge in nutrition and gene therapy to develop innovative treatments that target the root causes of diseases. My goal is to contribute to groundbreaking cures that combine dietary and genetic approaches to combat conditions such as cancer and metabolic disorders.

Memberships: Lifetime member of the Indian Dietetic Association

Awards and Honors: Awarded scholarship for my Masters studies at Boston University, Qualified Assistant Professor (2019) in India, Awarded with TWO Gold Medals for the subject of Nutrition during my undergraduate program

adarga@meei.harvard.edu

Education Background: M.S Chemical Engineering, Arizona State University.
B.S Chemical Engineering, MIT-WPU Pune

Research Projects: AAV Production and NGS Library Preparation

Research Interest: AAV and CRISPR-Cas9 associated Gene Therapy

Career Ambition: Gene Therapy Scientist

Awards and Honors: Engineering Graduate Fellowship, The Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering

sbrahmankar@meei.harvard.edu

Education: Bachelor’s in Health Sciences, Minors in Psychology and Chemistry

Research Interest: Stem Cell Therapy, Neurodegenerative Diseases

Career Ambition: Lab Coordinator

Awards & Honors: Dean’s List (all years of college)

mchagnon2@meei.harvard.edu

Nerea Zabaleta, PhD, is an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. Her research lab forms part of the Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, USA, and of the Ocular Genomics Institute. She received a PhD degree in biomedical research from the University of Navarra, Spain, in 2018. She has a strong background in translational gene editing and gene therapy for inherited liver metabolic disorders as well as preclinical development of vaccines. Her laboratory aims at developing and optimizing adeno-associated viral vector (AAV)-based therapies for inherited and infectious disorders. Her goal is to create custom AAV vectors that adequate to the needs of each disease and target specific cell types rather than specific organs, creating more effective and safer therapies. Her work has been published in high impact journals, and she is inventor of two patents, including an AAV-based vaccine platform. Additionally, she is a board member of ECUSA (Spanish Scientist in the USA, non-profit) and volunteers her time to advocating for inclusion and gender equity.

nerea_zabaletalasarte@meei.harvard.edu