People

Meet the Principal Investigator

Steven J. Gray, Ph.D.

Steven J. Gray, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Departments of Pediatrics | Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth & Development | Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine | Molecular Biology | Neurology & Neurotherapeutics

Dr. Gray's Academic Profile

Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Steven Gray earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Vanderbilt University in 2006, after receiving a B.S. degree with honors from Auburn University.  He performed a postdoctoral fellowship focusing on gene therapy in the laboratory of Jude Samulski at UNC Chapel Hill.  He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.  Dr. Gray is the director of the UTSW Viral Vector Facility and maintains affiliations with the Department of Molecular Biology, the Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, and the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine at UT Southwestern. 

Dr. Gray’s core expertise is in AAV gene therapy vector engineering, followed by optimizing approaches to deliver a gene to the nervous system.  His major focus is in AAV vector development to develop vectors tailored to serve specific clinical and research applications involving the nervous system.  These include the development of novel AAV capsids amenable to widespread CNS gene transfer.  As AAV-based platform gene transfer technologies have been developed to achieve global, efficient, and in some cases cell-type specific CNS gene delivery, his research focus has also included preclinical studies to apply these reagents toward the development of treatments for neurological diseases. Currently these include preclinical studies for Rett Syndrome, Giant Axonal Neuropathy (GAN), Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency, SURF1-related Leigh Syndrome, SLC6A1, Tay-Sachs, Sandhoff, Krabbe, AGU, Charcot-Marie Tooth, Batten Diseases, GNAO1 Deficiency, DDX3X Deficiency, Monoamine Oxidase Deficiency, and Angelman Syndrome, and have expanded into human clinical studies to test a gene therapy approach for GAN.   

Dr. Gray has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Molecular Therapy, Nature Biotechnology, Gene Therapy, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  He also has 9 pending patents. His research is funded by the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as well as numerous large and small research foundations.  Dr. Gray was recently recognized with the 2016 Healthcare Hero award by the Triangle Business Journal, and his work on GAN was featured in a story by the CBS National Evening News in 2015.

Current Lab Members

Eric Shih, M.S., M.B.A.

Lab Manager

Eric Shih

Ben Eckert

Gene Therapy Program Manager

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Kathy Stone

Sr Admin Assistant II

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Thomas Dong, Ph.D.

Sr Research Scientist

Thomas Dong

Weirui Guo, Ph.D.

Sr Research Scientist

Weirui Guo, Ph.D.

Nanda Regmi, Ph.D.

Sr Research Scientist

Nanda Regmi, Ph.D.

Yuhui Hu, M.S.

Research Scientist

Yuhui Hu

Vijayashree Ramesh, M.S.

Research Scientist

Vijayashree Ramesh

Merve Emercen

Visiting Junior Researcher

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Qinglan Ling, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Qinglan Ling, Ph.D.

Sumana Venkat, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Sumana Venkat

Hye Ri Kang, Ph.D.

Sr Research Associate

Hye Ri Kang, Ph.D.

Matthew Rioux, M.S.

Research Associate

Matthew Rioux

Scarlett Dwyer

Research Tech II

Scarlett Dwyer

Anjala Jiji

Research Tech II

Anjala Jiji

Andrea Boitnott

Graduate Student Researcher - Neuroscience

Andrea Boitnott

Irvin Garza

Graduate Student Researcher – Genetics, Development and Disease

Irvin Garza

Lab Alumni

Emily Boyle

Research Technician II

Emily Boyle

Widler Casy, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Widler Casy, Ph.D.

Samuel Hughes, M.B.A.

Gene Therapy Pre-Clinical Project Manager

Samuel Hughes, M.B.A.

Eric Lykken, Ph.D.

Lab Manager

Eric Lykken

Kathryn McMillan

Research Assistant II

Kathryn McMillan

Roxana Ploski

Gene Therapy Pre-Clinical Project Manager

Roxana Ploski

Juan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Lab Manager

Juan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Frances Shaffo, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Frances Shaffo, Ph.D.

Sarah Sinnett, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Sarah Sinnett, Ph.D.

Lacey Stearman

Sr Admin Assistant II

Lacey Stearman

Mehmet Takar, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Mehmet Takar, Ph.D.

George Xie

Lab Technical Assistant I

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