George

George Aslanidi, PhD

Professor
Molecular Bioengineering and Cancer Vaccine
Telephone Number
507-437-9622

Administrative Assistant Jenna Lau: [email protected]

Biography

Dr. George Aslanidi is a professor at The Hormel Institute and leader of Molecular Bioengineering and Vaccine Development research sections. Dr. Aslanidi received his B.S. and M.S. from Tbilisi State University in Republic of Georgia and Ph.D. from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of Russian Academy of Science at Puschino. Dr. Aslanidi completed his post-doctoral work at University of Florida, Department of Genetic & Miclobiology in the School of Medicine. 

Prior to joining The Hormel Institute, Dr. Aslanidi was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Florida, where he conducted research on gene therapy of single gene diseases and cancer, and also taught laboratory research to pre-med students and clinical fellows.

Education

  • PhD: Biophysics, Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Pushchino, Russia, 2004
  • BS: Biophysics, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, 1993

Affiliations

Professional memberships

  • Member of American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

  • Member of American Association of Cancer Research

  • Member of European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy 

Research Interests

Over the course of the past years, my research has focused on biology, development, production and application of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) as vectors for gene therapy for single gene disorders and immune system modulation, including both the induction and avoidance of antigen-specific responses, depending on the therapeutic need and cancer immunotherapy.

Primary Research Areas

  • Gene Therapy

  • Immunotherapy

  • Translational Research

  • Biomanufacturing 

Research Specialties

  • Adeno-Associated Virus

  • Viral vectors development

  • Viral vectors production

  • Genetic Bioengineering

  • Cancer Vaccine

Publications

  1. Ester Molina, Marcos Tejero, Ozgun Firat Duzenli, Hisae Kuoch, Colin Caine, Karina Krotova, Michael Paulaitis, George Aslanidi. Insights in AAV-mediated antigen-specific immunity and a strategy for AAV vaccine dose reduction through AAV-extracellular vesicle association. Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development, 32; 4:101358, 2024. PMID: 39559560.
  2. Monika Chauhan, Audrey L Daugherty, Fatemeh Ellie Khadir, Ozgun F Duzenli, Alexandra Hoffman, Jennifer A Tinklenberg, Peter B Kang, George Aslanidi, Christina A Pacak. AAV-DJ is superior to AAV9 for targeting brain and spinal cord, and de-targeting liver across multiple delivery routes in mice. Journal of Translational Medicine, 5;22(1):824, 2024. PMID: 39237935.
  3. Kwak G, Gololobova O, Sharma N, Caine C, Mazur M, Mulka K, West NE, Solomon GM, Cutting GR, Witwer KW, Rowe SM, Paulaitis M, Aslanidi G, Suk JS. Extracellular vesicles enhance pulmonary transduction of stably associated adeno-associated virus following intratracheal administration. J Extracell Vesicles. 2023 Jun; 12(6):e12324. doi: 10.1002/jev2.12324. PMID: 37272896.
  4. Hisae Yoshitomi, Karina Krotova, Melanie Graham, Mark Brently, George Aslanidi. Multiplexing AAV Serotype-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies in Preclinical Animal Models and Humans. Biomedicines 11(2), 523, 2023.
  5. Karina Krotova, Hisae Yoshitomi, Colin Cane, George Aslanidi. Tumor antigen-loaded AAV vaccine drives protective immunity in a melanoma animal model. Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development 28: 301-311, 2023.
  6. Karina Krotova and George Aslanidi. Modifiers of Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated Gene Expression in Implication for Serotype-Universal Neutralizing Antibody Assay. Human Gene Therapy. 31(19-20):1124-1131, 2020. PMID: 32495655.
  7. Karina Krotova, Andrew Day, George Aslanidi. Engineered AAV6 based Vaccine Induces High Cytolytic Anti-Tumor Activity by Direct Targeting of Dendritic Cells and Improved Antigen Presentation, Molecular Therapy – Oncology, 7; 15:166-177, 2019. PMID: 31720373.
  8. Jheel Pandya, Luis Ortiz, Chen Ling, Angela E. Rivers, George Aslanidi. Rationally Designed Capsid and Transgene Cassette of AAV6 Vectors for Dendritic Cell-based Cancer Immunotherapy. Immunology and Cell Biology. 92(2):116-23, 2014.
  9. DiMattia MA, Nam HJ, Van Vliet K, Mitchell M, Bennett A, Gurda BL, McKenna R, Olson NH, Sinkovits RS, Potter M, Byrne BJ, Aslanidi G, Zolotukhin S, Muzyczka N, Baker TS, Agbandje-McKenna M. Structural insight into the unique properties of adeno-associated virus serotype 9. Journal of Virology, 86(12):6947-58., 2012. PMID: 22496238. 

  10. Aslanidi G, Lamb K, Zolotukhin S. An inducible system for highly efficient production of recombinant Adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors in insect Sf9 cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 106(13): 5059-64, 2009.

    Full list of publications: aslanidi g - Search Results - PubMed