Barbara Bailus

Dr. Barbara Bailus is an Assistant Professor of Genetics at the Riggs School School of Health Sciences. Her research focuses on neurological disorders, particularly gene therapy and delivery mechanisms for diseases like Angelman syndrome, Huntington’s disease, and Alzheimer’s. She leads the Bailus Lab, which pioneers custom proteins capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier to deliver therapeutics. Dr. Bailus holds a PhD and has conducted postdoctoral research at prominent institutions, contributing groundbreaking work in CRISPR and cell-penetrating peptides. She has published extensively, including studies on FKBP51’s role in Huntington’s disease and zinc-finger constructs. Her work has been recognized with a New Investigator grant from the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics.

Education:

• Doctoral studies: Focus on cell-penetrating peptides and blood-brain barrier mechanisms.
• Postdoctoral studies: Investigated FKBP51 and autophagy in Huntington’s disease.

Research Interests:

• Gene therapy and delivery systems.
• CRISPR and genome engineering applications.
• Neurological disorders, including Angelman and Huntington’s syndromes.
• Development of therapeutic proteins with blood-brain barrier-crossing capabilities.

Publications: Her work spans neurology, molecular biology, and genetics, emphasizing translational research in gene editing and therapeutic delivery. Key areas include autophagy modulation, iPSC-based drug screening, and targeted protein delivery.

Grants & Awards:

• New Investigator grant from the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics.

Labs & Teams: The Bailus Lab collaborates on interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of genetics, neurology, and biotechnology, advancing therapies for intractable neurological conditions.