Branden Moriarity, PhD

Chief Innovation Officer & Founder

Dr. Moriarity runs a basic/translational research laboratory working to develop novel cellular therapeutics for gene therapy and cancer immunotherapy with the goal of translating new therapeutics to the clinic. To accomplish these goals the Moriarity lab uses cutting edge genome engineering technologies including CRISPR/Cas9, base editor technology, transposons, and rAAV.

These tools allow for high frequency gene knockout, gene knock-in, induction of targeted sequence changes, and activation and/or repression of endogenous gene expression. Target cells for engineering include T cells, B cells, NK cells, Monocytes, and hematopoietic stem cells. In addition to developing cellular based therapeutics, the Moriarity lab also performs preclinical drug testing for pediatric cancers, such as osteosarcoma, in order to launch new clinical trials using antibody therapies rather than toxic chemotherapy. Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology.

• Faculty Member, Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology (MICaB) Ph.D. Graduate Program
• Early Innovator Award, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota (2019)
• Innovator in Translational Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota (2018)