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Sonia Skarlatos, Ph.D., F.A.H.A
To arrange an interview, please contact the NHLBI Communications Office at 301-496-4236 or nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov.
Biography
Sonia Isabella Skarlatos, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., is the deputy director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She oversees the planning, development and implementation of national and international innovative research activities for vascular diseases; gene and cell therapies for heart, lung, and blood diseases; and translational research.
Dr. Skarlatos has been active across NIH to bring gene therapy to the forefront and serves as chair of the NIH Gene Therapy Extramural Committee. As a leader in the field of gene and cell therapy, she directs five major NHLBI programs: The Cardiovascular Cell-Based Research Therapies Network (CCTRN); The Gene Therapy Resource Program (GTRP); The Science Moving Towards Research for Translation and Therapy Program (SMARTT); The NHLBI Center for Fetal Monkey Gene Transfer for Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases (CFMGT); and The National Gene Vector Biorepository (NGVB). In 2000, Dr. Skarlatos was appointed the NHLBI Gene Therapy Coordinator to ensure proper monitoring and evaluation of ongoing NHLBI-supported gene therapy clinical studies.
Her interest in translational research and concern about the gap between discovery and clinical testing led Dr. Skarlatos to establish the Science Moving towArds Research Translation and Therapy (SMARTT) program in 2010. This program assists with the translation of new synthetic, natural, or biologic treatments for heart, lung, and blood diseases from the scientific community to the clinic. She also manages the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network, which the NHLBI established in 2006 to promote and accelerate clinical research in the evaluation of new cell therapy treatment strategies for individuals with cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Skarlatos earned her undergraduate and master's degrees in biology from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, P.A. in 1982. After completing her doctorate of philosophy in physiology from Pennsylvania State University in University Park, P.A. in 1985, she joined the NHLBI as a senior staff fellow in the Section of Experimental Atherosclerosis. In 1992, Dr. Skarlatos became a health scientist administrator at NHLBI. In this position she started the gene therapy data safety and monitoring board (DSMB) and coordinated gene therapy research across the NHLBI. In 2004, she became deputy director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences.
Dr. Skarlatos has received numerous awards from the NIH for her accomplishments developing programs that foster research in areas such as molecular biology, gene therapy, cell-based strategies for cardiovascular disease prevention, and non-viral systems for gene transfer, and career development in vascular medicine. She is a member of several professional associations, a co-chair of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Program Committee, and a liaison for the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee.
Areas of Expertise: Gene and cell therapy, vascular biology, translational research, and clinical studies.
Dr. Skarlatos In the News
May 14, 2013
: American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy
Pioneering researchers recognized for scientific achievements in gene and cell therapy
Shaun Kramer
The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) is honored to recognize Sonia Skarlatos, Ph.D., and Catherine McKeon, Ph.D., as the recipients of the Distinguished Service Award at the Society’s 16th Annual Meeting. This award recognizes an ASGCT Member or group that has consistently fostered and enhanced the field of genetic and cellular therapy.
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