Alberto Malerba

Dr. Alberto Malerba is a Lecturer in Gene Therapy at Royal Holloway, University of London, leading the Gene Medicine Laboratory for Rare Diseases. He holds a PhD in Biotechnologies from Padua University and specializes in gene therapy advancements for muscular dystrophies. His work focuses on antisense oligonucleotides, gene replacement therapies via AAV vectors, and collaborations with industry partners to translate research into clinical applications. Notable achievements include developing an AAV vector for OPMD that entered clinical trials in 2023 and contributing to the Unite DMD consortium's AAV-microdystrophin therapy now in trials in France and the UK.

Research Interests:
His laboratory targets Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), OPMD, and FSHD using gene therapy, gene editing, and pharmacological agents. Techniques include antisense oligonucleotides for exon skipping, viral/non-viral vectors, and CRISPR-based approaches to address genetic defects.

Collaborations and Grants:
Current projects include Vectorize therapies for OPMD (Leiden University collaboration), CRISPRa-mediated fibrosis inhibition (Duchenne Parent Project), and AAV capsid bioengineering for immune protection (U.S. Army Medical Research). He mentors postdoctoral researchers and supervises PhD students in muscle disease research.

Laboratory Team:
Includes Dr. James March (Postdoctoral Researcher), Dr. Alexis Boulinguiez (Postdoctoral Researcher), and PhD students Rooh Ullah and Rida Javed.