Jesse A. Weber, Ph.D.

Scientist for the functional genomics team at Xaira. Focused on leveraging years of prior gene delivery/editing experience to address and overcome hurdles preventing adequate large-scale in vivo screening efforts.

• Platform lead for gene delivery strategies regarding external partnership programs and internal projects in the R&D phase • Leading cross-functional weekly meetings covering current strategies and innovations regarding gene delivery for internal and external projects • Advancing company insight into gene delivery mediums via advanced sequencing methods, reporter model outcomes, gene editing results, and overall vector QC • Responsible for routine meeting updates / presentations with partnership programs to seamlessly convey data as well as elicit expert feedback for next step approaches and future experimental designs

• Led and directed an academic partnership with Homology Medicines Inc. investigating R&D for the company, with the goal to enhance understanding of their clinical products • Designed and carried out two major projects centered on targeted AAV integration in the liver and biodistribution of novel HSC-targeting capsids using in-house murine reporter models • Collaborated with company financial analysts and scientists to establish a multi-year budget proposal covering in vitro and in vivo experimentation

• PhD awarded while in the lab of Beverly Davidson, focusing on AAV gene therapy, nucleic acid delivery via lipid nanoparticles, and CRISPR gene-editing for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases • Focused on the use of novel reporter models to further understand the following: directed excision using dual-guide targeting CRISPR/Cas strategies, the kinetics of gene editing in various tissues post-LNP delivery of mRNA/gRNA, prime editing efforts to improve diseases of haploinsufficiency, and in vivo CRISPR screens to determine the intracellular factors involved in AAV transduction

• Assisted in research centered around protein engineering to optimize a novel HIV therapeutic called eCD4-Ig which will be entering the earliest stages of clinical trials in the fall of 2019 • Established research on novel adeno-associated viral vectors regarding two main areas: (1) Their immunogenic properties in hosts post-inoculation, and (2) the development of novel gene cassette designs for optimizing long-term expression of transgenes for use in future monkey studies • Trained in effective strategies for creation and execution of oral and poster presentations for conferences, seminars, laboratory meetings, and community-targeted science events

• Assisted in basic laboratory work centered around DNA extractions and library preparations of modern and ancient DNA samples • Trained in experimental design, presentation skills, and the programming language R for characterization, organization, and statistical analysis of sequenced DNA extractions • Maintained laboratory supplies and reagents for daily use