Adrian Westhaus

Adrian Westhaus, PhD, Research Officer

Adrian completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Bremen (Thesis in Dringen lab, Neurobiochemistry). Pursuing a future career in science, he enrolled in the master’s program in Molecular Bioscience and Major Infectious Disease at the University of Heidelberg. As part of this research-based MSc program, he performed several research rotations including the CMRI-laboratories of Prof Ian Alexander (GTRU) and A/Prof Leszek Lisowski (TVRU).

After completing his master’s degree with a research project in the lab of Prof Dirk Grimm (University of Heidelberg), he chose to return to CMRI as part of the UCL-CMRI PhD Bridge Programme. His main supervisor at the collaborating lab was Prof Adrian Thrasher the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Section Molecular and Cellular Immunology. The project was focussed on AAV capsid bioengineering to generate capsids more efficient at mediating homology-directed repair in primary human T-cells and haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

Since completing his PhD, Adrian continues his academic career at A/Prof Lisowski’s TVRU as a Postdoc. His work is focussing on AAV capsid bioengineering in various tissues and the generation of novel, non-AAV-related gene delivery vectors.