Host: Professor Charlotte Hauser

Abstract: 
In his introductory talk to the BioE program, Fabian Schmidt will describe his journey into the world of Applied Virology. He will showcase the key features that make viruses ideal for bioengineering and share examples of his previous work. During his talk, Fabian will also introduce the concepts behind the use of viruses as delivery vehicles for gene therapies and highlight the challenges faced in manufacturing such viral vectors. Lastly, he will provide a preview of how his team at KAUST plans to tackle these challenges through the use of synthetic biology and automation.

Bio: 
Fabian received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, UK. Subsequently, he joined the Hatziioannou & Bieniasz lab at Rockefeller University in New York, where he increasingly focused on translation aspects of virus-host relationships. He joined KAUST in October of last year as a BioE program core member and part of the KSHI.