UF College of Medicine Faculty Appointed President-Elect of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy

Continuing UF College of Medicine’s revolutionary work developing the adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector, Dr. Barry Byrne, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Chair of Pediatrics and Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center, will serve as President of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) during the society’s 30th anniversary year in 2027. 

Byrne, a pediatric cardiologist and virologist, has advanced AAV vector development, helping translate gene therapy from concept to clinic — particularly for Pompe disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Friedreich’s ataxia and inherited cardiomyopathies. His research has pioneered DNA delivery to muscle cells using AAVs and led to scalable clinical manufacturing methods for treatments restoring cardiac and skeletal muscle function.

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