Julie Tordo, PhD, is a Principal Scientist, Discovery Lead. Dr. Tordo joined Pfizer in May 2015 at the recently created Genetic Medicine Institute in London. As part of the Rare Diseases Research Unit, the Genetic Medicine Institute is committed to the development of new potential therapies to address unmet medical needs of those individuals with rare diseases, more specifically by dedicating efforts to the discovery, development and manufacturing of Gene Therapy based products. As the Genetic Medicine Institute Discovery Lead, Dr. Tordo’s efforts are centered on the development of a viral vector platform to address various gene therapy applications. The main focus is on the design, engineering and development of new Adeno-associated virus capsid variants in order to optimize the bioactivity, tissue-specificity and transduction efficiency of the vectors and to obtain improved overall properties. Her work involves interactions with multiple functional lines internally as well engagement in key external collaborations around gene therapy drug development efforts with partnered academic groups. Dr. Tordo did her graduate work in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the European Master of Science in Genetics at University Paris VII and obtained her degree in 2008. She later obtained her PhD in 2012 in Prof. Olivier Danos’ lab at University College London, focusing on the characterization of novel Adeno-associated virus vectors for the transfer of antisense sequences in the context of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. She then became a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Michael Linden’s lab in September 2012, where she worked on the design, development and characterization of recombinant Adeno-associated virus vectors, and on the optimization of their production and purification.

 Rare Diseases,Genetic Medicine