Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy
Open Access

Arun Srivastava

Biography

Dr. Arun Srivastava is Chief of Division of Cellular & Molecular Therapy in the Departments of Pediatrics, and Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, and Powell Gene Therapy Center. He has also served as Assistant Director of the UF General Clinical Research Center. He received his PhD degree from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. After completing his postdoctoral training at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, he worked as a Research Associate at the University of Florida. For nearly two decades, he was on the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, where he rose to the rank of Professor. He was recruited back to the University of Florida in 2004. In the past three decades, he has mentored 8 Clinical Fellows and 32 Postdoctoral Fellows. Two students have graduated with MS degrees, and 7 students have received their PhD degrees from his laboratory. His research activities are currently supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Bayer Hemophilia Program. He has also been awarded 3 US Patents on his research on human parvoviruses and their potential use as vectors in human gene therapy. He currently serves on two NIH Study Sections as well as on the Editorial Boards of Journal of Virology, Human Gene Therapy, Recent Patents on DNA and Gene Sequences, Gene Therapy and Molecular Biology, and Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine. He has published 157 research articles, mostly on human parvoviruses, in peer-reviewed journals, reviews, and book chapters.

Research Interest

For the past 30 years, Dr. Srivastava’s research has been focused on the following two parvoviruses, the non-pathogenic adeno-associated virus (AAV), and a common human pathogen, the parvovirus B19, and the development of recombinant parvovirus vectors in human gene therapy. His laboratory has made seminal contributions to the field of parvoviruses, which include: identification of cellular co-receptors for AAV2, AAV3 as well as parvovirus B19; elucidation of various steps involved in parvovirus trafficking in the cell and nuclear transport; identification of cellular proteins involved in the regulation of AAV DNA replication and encapsidation; development of recombinant AAV and parvovirus B19 vectors; and transgenic and knockout mouse models to study parvovirus-induced pathogenicity, and the use of parvovirus vectors for gene transfer and gene therapy. More recently, the next generation of recombinant AAV vectors have been developed in his laboratory that transduce cells and tissues more efficiently at lower vector doses. In collaboration with Dr. Roland Herzog’s laboratory, he has developed strategies to achieve therapeutic levels of coagulation factors at reduced vector doses for the potential gene therapy of hemophilia. The current emphasis is on developing recombinant parvovirus vectors for gene therapy for genetic diseases such as beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease, and malignant disorders such as hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.