The research goal of Alex Marson’s lab is to understand the genetic circuits that control the function of cells in the human immune system, especially T cells. Marson and colleagues have developed new tools to accomplish efficient genome engineering in primary human immune cells with CRISPR. With this technology scientists can now readily rewrite specific sequences in human cells and interrogate the biological effects. These advances in genome editing will accelerate fundamental insights into how immune cells are “wired” and have potential to enhance the next generation of cell-based immunotherapies for cancer, infectious diseases, organ transplantation, and autoimmune diseases.

Disease Areas

Autoimmune Diseases
Cancer Immunotherapies
HIV/AIDS
Infectious Diseases

Areas of Expertise

CRISPR Genome Engineering
Functional Genomics
Human Genetics
Immunology
Working in the Marson lab

Lab Focus

Developing new tools for efficient genome engineering in primary human immune cells.
Pursuing a comprehensive strategy to test how coding and non-coding genetic variation controls functional programs in the immune system.
Performing functional genetic studies of host-pathogen interactions in primary human immune cells.

Research Impact

Marson’s team is pioneering new CRISPR gene-editing technologies that offer faster, cheaper and more precise ways to re-write DNA programs in human immune cells. With these tools, the lab is engineering cells to treat a wide range of diseases. They are designing programs to make cells that can recognize and eliminate cancer, cells that are resistant to infections like HIV, and cells that can reduce inflammation in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. Reprogrammed human immune cells are emerging as a new class of “living” medicines.

 

Professional Titles

Senior Investigator and Director, Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology

Connie and Bob Lurie Director, Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology

Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institutes

Center Director, The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Gladstone Institutes

Professor, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, UC San Francisco

Director, CRISPR Cures for Cancer Initiative

Scientific Director of Human Health, Innovative Genomics Institute

Bio

Alexander Marson, MD, PhD, is the director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and an associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF.

Marson is interested in how DNA controls the behavior of cells in the human immune system. He uses the power of CRISPR technology to genetically engineer cells to fight cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, and earned an MPhil in biological sciences from Cambridge. He earned his PhD at Whitehead Institute at MIT, where he worked with mentors Rick Young and Rudolf Jaenisch on transcriptional control of regulatory T cells and embryonic stem cells.

After completing his MD at Harvard Medical School and an internship and residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Marson joined UCSF in 2012 to complete clinical work as an infectious diseases fellow. He started his lab as a Sandler Faculty Fellow, before joining the faculty at UCSF and becoming scientific director of biomedicine at the Innovative Genomics Institute. He is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Honors and Awards

2019 American Society of Clinical Investigators (ASCI) Member

2016 NIH/NIDA Avenir New Innovator Award

2016 Burroughs Wellcome Foundation Career Award for Medical Scientists

2016 American Society of Clinical Investigators (ASCI) Young Physician-Scientist Award

2010 James Tolbert Shipley Prize for Excellence and Accomplishment in Research, Harvard

2009 Sigma Xi, MIT

Publications

Contact

Alex Marson
Email
415.734.4861


Lab Members

Maya Arce
Graduate Student
Zev Armour-Garb
Student Intern
James Asaki
Graduate Student
Sagar Bapat, MD, PhD
Affiliate
Mollie Black
Visiting Researcher
Franziska Blaeschke, MD
Collaborator
Juliet Capriola
Student Intern
Daniel Carr
Collaborator
Yan Yi Chen
Collaborator
Rama Dajani
Research Associate II
Stacie Dodgson, PhD
Scientific Program and Strategy Manager
Kira Downey
Rotation Student
Eli Dugan
Graduate Student
Ishaan Dureja
Student Intern
Xinyi Feng
Student Intern
Jacob Freimer, PhD
Collaborator
Daniel Goodman
Affiliate
Laine Goudy
Graduate Student
Reese Guitche
Student Intern
Alvin Ha
Affiliate
Rosmely Hernandez, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Kamir Hiam, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Joseph Hiatt
Collaborator
Daniel Jimenez
Student Intern
Hyuncheol Jung, PhD
Visiting Postdoc
Nikhita Kirthivasan
Rotation Student
Shanshan Lang, PhD
Staff Research Scientist III
Caleb Lareau, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Youjin Lee, PhD
Collaborator
Benjamin Lesch
Graduate Student
Zhongmei Li, MS
Affiliate
Weixian Lin
Student Intern
Qi Liu, PhD
Visiting Postdoc
Konstantin Loher
Collaborator
Connor MacLennan
Student Intern
Murad Mamedov, PhD
Scientist
Ron Manlapaz
Research Scientist
Stefanie Meier, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Kristen Mengwasser, MD, PhD
Clinical Fellow
Carson Moseley, MD, PhD
Visiting Postdoc
Cody Mowery
Visiting Scientist
David Nguyen, MD, PhD
Clinical Fellow
Mineto Ohta, MD, PhD
Visiting Postdoc
Simrun Parulekar
Student Intern
Nandini Pathak
Student Intern
Jeffrey Perera
Student Intern
Kunal Puri
Student Intern
Ashley Qin
Rotation Student
Ujjwal Rathore, PhD
Staff Research Scientist III
Ralf Schmidt, MD
Collaborator
Eric Shifrut, PhD
Collaborator
Keshav Sridharan
Student Intern
Zachary Steinhart, PhD
Scientist
Robert Stickels, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Kirsten Takeshima
Student Intern
Carinna Tran
Research Associate I
Jenny Umhoefer
Graduate Student
Anika Wadhera
Student Intern
Carl Ward, PhD
Scientist
Jon Woo
Affiliate
Galen Xing, PhD
Graduate Student
Tori Yamamoto, PhD
Scientist
Emma Yin, MD
Visiting Scientist
Ronghui Zhu, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar