The Genetics Podcast

EP 192: From $88 to breakthroughs: Innovation in retinal gene therapy with Dr. Huma Qamar of Ocugen


Listen Later

Summary: 

This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Huma Qamar, Chief Medical Officer at Ocugen. They discuss her journey from arriving in the US with $88 in her pocket to leading gene therapy programs, Ocugen’s breakthrough in retinal disease, and how gene-agnostic therapies could transform treatment for conditions like retinitis pigmentosa.


Show Notes: 

0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast

00:59 Welcome to Huma 

01:40 How Huma arrived in the US from Pakistan with $88 and went on to do medical training and research at Yale and Harvard

06:47 Huma’s approach to challenges throughout her journey and how networking helped boost her career

09:30 Ocugen’s mission to develop therapies for retinal disease and recent successes, including obtaining pediatric breakthrough designation

12:10 Technical advantages and disadvantages of Ocugen’s retinal gene therapy 

15:18 Insights from Huma’s experience across gene therapy trials versus oncology trials 

19:17 Clinical landscape and genetic mutations in retinitis pigmentosa and the advantage of Ocugen’s gene-agnostic and gene modifier platform

23:17 Therapy mechanism of reactivating degenerating photoreceptors via master regulators 

 

26:32 Clinical trial design and regulatory considerations

29:15 Huma’s vision and hopes for retinal diseases over the next 5-10 years 

30:20 Huma’s experience as an interpreter and dedication to supporting immigrants and refugees

32:12 Closing remarks and Huma’s message to women and patients

Find out more

  • Ocugen (https://ocugen.com/)

Please consider rating and reviewing us on your chosen podcast listening platform! 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bp2_wVNSzntTs_zuoizU8bX1dvao4jfj/view?usp=share_link


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Genetics PodcastBy Sano Genetics

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

43 ratings


More shows like The Genetics Podcast

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,133 Listeners

Nature Podcast by Springer Nature Limited

Nature Podcast

758 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,845 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,299 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,089 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,483 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,327 Listeners

The Readout Loud by STAT

The Readout Loud

318 Listeners

The Next Big Idea by Next Big Idea Club

The Next Big Idea

1,276 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,273 Listeners

BioCentury This Week by BioCentury

BioCentury This Week

29 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,134 Listeners

Biotech Hangout by Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler & more

Biotech Hangout

18 Listeners

NEJM AI Grand Rounds by NEJM Group

NEJM AI Grand Rounds

54 Listeners

Ground Truths by Eric Topol

Ground Truths

51 Listeners