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
Inflammation

Areas of Expertise

CRISPR Genome Engineering
Functional Genomics
Human Genetics
Immunology
Immunotherapy Design
CAR T Cells
Working in the Marson lab

Lab Focus

Developing new tools for efficient genome engineering and forward genetic studies in primary human immune cells.
Pursuing a comprehensive strategy to test how coding and non-coding DNA sequences control functional programs in the immune system.
Engineering immunotherapies that tune immune cell function to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and infections.
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

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

Educated and trained as an infectious disease physician as well as a biologist, Alex Marson knows how to optimize cross-disciplinary investigation. His own laboratory team comprises scientists from the fields of genomics, immunology, infectious diseases, and genome engineering.

Marson launched his research career at UC San Francisco in 2012, focusing on using CRISPR to get inside human immune cells and amplify their disease-fighting capabilities. In 2020, he joined Gladstone Institutes to direct the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology. Here, his team is genetically modifying cells to create “living medicines” that can fight cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases.

After earning an MPhil in biological sciences from Cambridge University in 2003, Marson complemented that with a PhD in biology from Whitehead Institute at MIT in 2008. There he worked closely with two pioneers of gene regulation, Rudolf Jaenisch and Rick Young. Two years later, he completed his MD at Harvard Medical School, followed by an internship and residency at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Marson serves as the scientific director for biomedicine at the Innovative Genomics Institute, founded by Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna. He is a director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Gladstone Institutes and was chosen one of the inaugural investigators at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Marson also co-founded Arsenal Bio, Site Tx, Survey Genomics, and Spotlight Therapeutics, and he serves on the scientific advisory boards for Amgen, NewLimit and Tenaya Therapeutics.

What Keeps You Inspired about Your Research?

“I am inspired by the brilliant, creative and collaborative group of scientists in the lab – undergraduates, technicians, graduate students, postdocs and professional staff – that work together across disciplines. They have transformed human immune cells into a tractable system for functional genetic studies and are integrating experimental innovations, classical immunology, human genetics, computational biology, synthetic biology and clinical expertise to make fundamental discoveries and design immunotherapies of the future.”

Alex Marson, MD, PhD

Honors and Awards

2022 Elected member, Association of American Physicians

2019 Elected member, American Society for Clinical Investigation

2019 Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR Program award

2018 Named to “Wired” Magazine’s “25 Icons of the Next 25 Years” list

2016 NIH/NIDA Avenir New Innovator Award

2016 Burroughs Wellcome Foundation Career Award for Medical Scientists

2016 American Society of Clinical Investigators Young Physician-Scientist Award

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

Publications

Contact

Alex Marson
Email
415.734.4861


Lab Members

Niran Almudhfar, MS
Research Associate III
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
Melissa Bu
Rotation Student
Juliet Capriola
Student Intern
Daniel Carr
Collaborator
Alex Caufield
Student Intern
Yan Yi Chen
Collaborator
Rama Dajani
Research Associate II
Emma Dann, PhD
Visiting Postdoc
Pascal Devant, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Stacie Dodgson, PhD
Scientific Program and Strategy Manager
Kira Downey
Rotation Student
Eli Dugan
Graduate Student
Ishaan Dureja
Student Intern
Xinyi Feng
Research Associate I
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
Winni Hu
Student Intern
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
Clinical Fellow
Cody Mowery
Visiting Scientist
Ruchita Nair
Research Associate II
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
Jasmine Salazar
Student Intern
Ralf Schmidt, MD
Collaborator
Jin Seo
Research Associate I
Eric Shifrut, PhD
Collaborator
Keshav Sridharan
Student Intern
Zachary Steinhart, PhD
Scientist
Robert Stickels, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Kirsten Takeshima
Student Intern
Hunter Thornton
Research Associate III
Carinna Tran
Research Associate I
Jenny Umhoefer
Graduate Student
Anika Wadhera
Student Intern
Carl Ward, PhD
Collaborator
Jon Woo
Affiliate
Galen Xing, PhD
Graduate Student
Tori Yamamoto, PhD
Scientist
Emma Yin, MD
Visiting Scientist
Ronghui Zhu, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar