Dimitrios Laurin Wagner

Dimitrios Laurin Wagner, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Gene Therapy within Baylor College of Medicine. His research focuses on advancing gene and cell therapies, particularly CRISPR/Cas-based approaches to engineer immune cells for cancer and autoimmune disease treatment. His work emphasizes CAR T cell optimization, genome editing efficiency, and overcoming challenges such as immune rejection and off-target effects.

Education:

• MD-PhD from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (2021)
• MD from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (2019)
• Research Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine (2016–present)

Research Interests: Dr. Wagner’s research spans CRISPR technologies, CAR T cell engineering, and immune tolerance modulation. He develops strategies to enhance CAR T cell persistence, reduce immunogenicity, and improve targeting specificity for solid tumors. Recent efforts include non-viral gene editing methods, HLA silencing for universal CAR T cells, and overcoming resistance mechanisms in adoptive cell therapies.

Publications: His work consistently addresses translational challenges in gene therapy, such as optimizing HDR efficiency, preventing translocations in multiplex-edited cells, and engineering resistance to immunosuppressants. Themes include CAR T cell safety, precision targeting in solid tumors, and CRISPR-associated immune responses.

Affiliations:

• Member of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT)
• Committee roles in ASGCT’s 'Genome Editing' and 'Immune Responses to Gene Therapy' groups
• Member of the European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy

Labs/Teams: Active in the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and collaborates on projects at the Feigin Center. His lab develops innovative platforms for T cell engineering and gene therapy manufacturing.