Alex Marson

Alex Marson is a Professor at UCSF, Director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, and the Director of Human Health at the Innovative Genomics Institute. As a physician-scientist with a background in immune genomics, Alex’s lab is focused on adapting CRISPR genome editing techniques to human immune cells in order to understand the genetic programs controlling immune cell function and to manipulate T cells to generate cell-based therapies for a wide range of diseases.

The Marson lab focuses on elucidating the genetic and epigenetic regulation of human immune cells and the development and application of gene-editing technologies to manipulate immune cells to fight diseases including cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious disease. The lab is decoding gene programs in pro-inflammatory T cells that drive effective anti-cancer immune responses and programs in anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells (Tregs) that are critical to prevent autoimmunity. Using tools developed in the lab for CRISPR genome engineering in primary human T cells, the Marson lab is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to test how coding and non-coding genetic variation controls functional programs in the immune system and extending genome engineering capabilities to reprogram the next generation of cellular therapies.

Alex is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, a member of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and project member at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.