2026 Taylor Prize Laureate Lecture with Dr. Marina Cavazzana

All faculty, trainees, researchers, and staff are welcome to attend this year's Taylor Prize Laureate Lecture, featuring Dr. Marina Cavazzana, a pioneer in gene therapy for inherited blood and immune disorders.

In her lecture, Dr. Cavazzana will discuss how retroviral gene addition, valued for its safety, efficacy, and ability to transduce non-dividing cells, has transformed the treatment of benign blood diseases. She will also examine the platform's limits and the next generation of technologies designed to correct all types of disease-causing variants.

About the Speaker

Dr. Marina Cavazzana is Professor of Hematology at Université Paris Cité and head of the Biotherapy Department at Necker Children's Hospital in Paris, with research affiliated with Institut Imagine. Her work has helped bring gene therapy from the lab to the clinic for conditions such as severe combined immunodeficiency and sickle cell disease.

About the Prize

The J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine, awarded by the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, recognizes outstanding contributions to biomedical research. This year's theme is Discovery and Application of Gene Therapy.