What would it be like to dedicate over 50 years of your life towards treating a disease? Today, we're finding out with Dr. Jerry Mendell, who has been working to help patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy since the 1960s. He also partnered with Sarepta Therapeutics to create a therapy that delivers healthy copies of the dystrophin gene for treating spinal muscular atrophy. Join us to hear Dr. Mendell's thoughts on applying new forms of gene therapy for this condition, extrapolating his initial findings to treat related conditions, and the onslaught of modern research becoming outdated in the context of accelerating technological developments.
Dr. Jerry Mendell is a neurologist known for his groundbreaking work in treating neuromuscular diseases and pioneering two of the first eight gene therapies approved by the FDA. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2021, advises research at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and is an emeritus professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University.