Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Danaher Corporation, the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) celebrate members of their teams as the 2026 recipients of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy’s (ASGCT) Catalyst Award. The honor, presented today at ASGCT’s annual meeting in Boston, acknowledges individuals and teams whose contributions have accelerated the translation of cell and gene therapies from bench to clinic.
The award was shared among the following four recipients:
- Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, MD, PhD, a pediatric geneticist and Director of CHOP’s Gene Therapy for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Program
- Danaher Corporation
- Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, ML, MRA, Co-Director of the Orphan Disease Center, a partnership between CHOP and Penn Medicine
- Fyodor Urnov, PhD, Professor of Molecular Therapeutics at UC Berkeley and Director of Therapeutic R&D at IGI
The ASGCT Catalyst Award honors individuals or teams who drive cell and gene therapies from lab to clinic by advancing practical areas – like biomarkers and endpoints, manufacturing and scale-up, and policy or regulatory science – that turn promising ideas into real treatments. This team was selected because of their collaboration and work leading to the first personalized gene editing therapy.
"Through the Catalyst Award, ASGCT recognizes the bold, collaborative efforts that are advancing the field of cell and gene therapy and helping translate scientific progress into real-world patient impact,” said David Barrett, CEO, American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. “What stands out about this year’s honorees is not just the science, but how they came together across disciplines to create and deliver a complex treatment with urgency, showing that personalized gene therapy is possible not just for Baby K.J., but hopefully soon for many more patients like him. This is exactly the kind of progress ASGCT is committed to accelerating.”
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Danaher Corporation, the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) celebrate members of their teams as the 2026 recipients of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy’s (ASGCT) Catalyst Award. The honor, presented today at ASGCT’s annual meeting in Boston, acknowledges individuals and teams whose contributions have accelerated the translation of cell and gene therapies from bench to clinic.
The award was shared among the following four recipients:
- Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, MD, PhD, a pediatric geneticist and Director of CHOP’s Gene Therapy for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Program
- Danaher Corporation
- Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, ML, MRA, Co-Director of the Orphan Disease Center, a partnership between CHOP and Penn Medicine
- Fyodor Urnov, PhD, Professor of Molecular Therapeutics at UC Berkeley and Director of Therapeutic R&D at IGI
The ASGCT Catalyst Award honors individuals or teams who drive cell and gene therapies from lab to clinic by advancing practical areas – like biomarkers and endpoints, manufacturing and scale-up, and policy or regulatory science – that turn promising ideas into real treatments. This team was selected because of their collaboration and work leading to the first personalized gene editing therapy.
"Through the Catalyst Award, ASGCT recognizes the bold, collaborative efforts that are advancing the field of cell and gene therapy and helping translate scientific progress into real-world patient impact,” said David Barrett, CEO, American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. “What stands out about this year’s honorees is not just the science, but how they came together across disciplines to create and deliver a complex treatment with urgency, showing that personalized gene therapy is possible not just for Baby K.J., but hopefully soon for many more patients like him. This is exactly the kind of progress ASGCT is committed to accelerating.”
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Ashley Moore
Gene Therapy for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Program