Knocking Out Cancer Through New CRISPR Therapy with Eric Kmiec and Kelly Banas

Lung cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Patients often face a fast-moving disease and few treatment choices.

But what if you could treat lung cancer with something as simple as an inhaler? It's an option that may be closer than you think thanks to groundbreaking research from ChristianaCare's Gene Editing Institute.

At the heart of the technique is at-home CRISPR gene editing, designed to switch off tumor resistance at its source. Drs. Eric Kmiec and Kelly Banas of the Gene Editing Institute unpack the decade-long journey from a big idea to a viable therapy. We dig into the hardest parts of genetic medicine - delivery, stability, and safety - and why inhalation could be the breakthrough. Looking ahead, the team frames this as a platform that could expand to head and neck cancers and beyond, while easing the clinical toll on patients through lower doses and at-home care.

Whether your interest lies in lung cancer treatment specifically or the future of cancer therapeutics more generally, this episode provides a ray of hope for cancer patients everywhere. Listen now to find out how ChristianaCare and the Gene Editing Institute are paving the way for cancer breakthroughs.

Eric B. Kmiec, Ph.D., is the Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Gene Editing Institute (GEI) at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at ChristianaCare. His research centers on understanding the process of gene repair and gene editing with a focus on CRISPR-directed genome engineering in human cells. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in the fields of molecular medicine and gene editing having discovered many of the molecular activities that regulate the efficiency of human gene editing.

Kelly Banas, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of Research of the Gene Editing Institute. She leads a team of researchers working to identify new clinically relevant genomic targets as well as working to understand the specificity and safety of CRISPR/Cas systems as a therapeutic modality. Her previous research has led to an innovative foundational approach to the treatment of solid tumors using CRISPR-directed gene editing, which is currently being developed for Investigational New Drug status.