William R.A. Osborne, PhD

Research Professor (Emeritus)

Director, Osborne Lab

University of Washington
Box 358055
Seattle, WA 98195-8055
Phone: 206 685-3315
Email: wosborne@u.washington.edu
Profile

Dr. Osborne's current research is in two areas. The first is developing gene transfer therapies to treat cyclic neutropenia in dogs. This research entails the in vivo lentivirus-mediated delivery of canine granulocyte/colony stimulating factor and also its delivery using encapsulated cells. The second area is in gene therapy to treat Type 1 diabetes. This work entails the development of specific cell lines to secrete insulin and glucagon like peptide 1 for transplantation into diabetic rats. It also involves developing methods permitting implantation of allogeneic islet cells for long-term survival and therapy not requiring immunosuppression. Additionally, Dr. Osborne is collaborating with Dr. Ake Lernmark to develop lentivirus-mediated gene therapy to treat rats with type 1 diabetes. He is a member of the Scientific Editorial Board for Human Gene Therapy; he is also a member of the Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Study Section at the NIH, and he is also a member of the Scientific Review Board for the National Gene Vector Laboratories also based at the NIH. He has trained numerous post-doctoral fellows in the past, most of whom have gone on to have successful academic positions.