Dr. Roger Hajjar is the Director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Institute at Mass General Brigham in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been at the forefront of the development and translation of cardiac gene therapy from early-stage research through to clinical trials. Under his leadership, his laboratory has identified and validated multiple cardiac therapeutic targets, which have culminated in the successful initiation and completion of First-in-Human gene therapy clinical trials for patients suffering from various forms of heart failure.

Dr. Hajjar’s research has been instrumental in advancing the concept of modulating calcium cycling in heart failure from bench to bedside. His team has initiated several First-in-Human clinical trials employing adeno-associated vectors (AAV) vectors in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy-induced cardiomyopathy, and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.

He has authored in excess of 500 peer-reviewed publications and has been the recipient of numerous distinguished awards in recognition of his pioneering contributions to cardiac gene therapy, including the American Heart Association Young Investigator Award, the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Award, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins University, the American Heart Association Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Thomas W. Smith Award from the American Heart Association.

Dr. Hajjar is the co- founder of several gene therapy enterprises, including Nanocor/AskBio and Medera, which are actively advancing therapeutic programs targeting both rare and prevalent forms of cardiomyopathy.