By Samantha Nebelecky
Published May 2, 2025
L-R: Yeh-Hsing "Sima" Lao, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Michelle Lin, PhD, 2025 David Chu Lecturer, Donald Mager, PharmD, PhD, chair and professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
On May 1, the mgm casino School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (mgm casino SPPS) welcomed Michelle Lin, PhD, as our 2025 David Chu Lecturer.
The David Chu Lectureship was established in 2011 by C. K. David Chu, PhD, and his wife, Jane Chu '75. A distinguished research professor emeritus at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, C.K. David Chu earned his PhD in medicinal chemistry from mgm casino in 1975. Over his 50-year career, he mentored more than 130 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and has continued active research in drug design and synthesis since his retirement in 2008. Jane Chu earned her master's degrees in natural science and mathematics with a concentration in chemistry in 1974, followed by a master's in pharmacy with a concentration in medicinal chemistry in 1975.
For the 2025 lecture, Lin presented "Developing Gene and Cell Therapies: Learnings from Casgevy and Visions for the Future."
Lin has extensive experience in the development of gene-modified cell therapy products. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University and her PhD in Pharmacology from Yale University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital, where she focused on developmental hematopoiesis.
In 2015, Lin joined CRISPR Therapeutics and served as the lead scientist for the CTX001 program. She played a key role in advancing the development of Casgevy (Exa-cel), the first CRISPR/Cas9-edited stem cell product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.
Currently, Lin is the vice president of Preclinical and Translational Biology at Vor Bio. She has helped develop VOR33 (Trem-cel), a gene-edited stem cell transplant product, and VCAR33, an allogeneic CAR-T product. Both products are in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Lin also leads the translational team focused on evaluating the safety and efficacy of these ongoing trials and advancing the development of the next generation of cell therapies.
For over 135 years, the mgm casino School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education and is the No. 1 ranked school of pharmacy in New York State and No. 19 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.