Dr. Carlos Javier Alméciga-Díaz

Dr. Carlos Javier Almeciga-Diaz is a Full Professor and Director of the Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He obtained a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Universidad Nacional de Colombia (1996-2001) and a Doctor of Biological Sciences from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (2004-2009). He worked at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana since 2009. He was a Visiting Research Scholar at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) (2017-2018). During his PhD, he carried out the first in vivo tests of gene therapy for Morquio A using adeno-associated viral vectors. As a professor and researcher at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, he continued working in gene therapy for Morquio A using lentiviral vectors. Currently, he is exploring the use of CRISPR/Cas9 as a gene therapy tool for several inborn errors of metabolism. His research lines are: 1) Cellular and molecular bases of inborn Errors of Metabolism, 2) Diagnosis of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, and 3) Biotechnological Tools in Inborn Errors of Metabolism.