The Role of the Surgeon Scientist in Gene Therapy

Abstract

The rapid evolution of recombinant DNA technology has helped generate two new disciplines in medicine: molecular medicine and gene therapy. Although only a small portion of the human genome has been sequenced and techniques of gene transfer are in relatively early stages of development, clinical gene therapy protocols are underway at many institutions throughout the United States and Europe. The surgeon scientist will be critical to the further application of these techniques. These exciting new technologies promise to create an entirely new approach in the treatment of a wide variety of genetic and nongenetic human diseases.