Saumyendra N Sarkar, Ph.D Founder, President, and Chief Scientific Officer

Although some AAV-serotypes can target brain along with other organs after intravenous injection, several hurdles have emerged in both preclinical studies and clinical trials. The restriction in size of the gene to be packaged, reducing the production of neutralizing antibodies, activation of capsid-specific CD8+ T cells, and targeting specific organ/cell-type are among the barriers to overcome regarding the use of AAV serotypes.

After receiving his Ph.D. degree in Biophysics department University of Calcutta, India, Dr. Sarkar became a postdoctoral fellow in the departments of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Human Genetics at Yale University School of Medicine. After finishing at Yale University, he taught at the department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Post Harvard, he accepted a Research Scientist position in Dr. Simpkins’ Lab and has dedicated more than a decade to the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) project over there.

His life and career have been defined by a singular focus on research and discovery of neurological disorders and he brings with him a wealth of experience, knowledge and passion to take the research to the patients.