BU Center for regenerative medicine

My research focused on assembling a donor plasmid that encodes a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), a synthetic receptor that enables T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The CAR was designed to target BCMA, a protein found on the surface of multiple myeloma cells. Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, the CAR gene can be inserted into a specific location within a patient’s T-cell DNA through double restriction digestion, creating engineered CAR T-cells that are programmed to identify and attack cancer cells expressing BCMA.

To assemble and verify the donor plasmid, I performed a multi-day molecular workflow that included double restriction enzyme digestion, DNA extraction and purification, ligation, bacterial transformation, and gel electrophoresis. Because each stage depended on the success of the previous one, the process required precision, troubleshooting, and careful validation throughout.

This work supports the preclinical development of CAR T-cell therapies for multiple myeloma by helping create the genetic construct needed to engineer targeted immune cells capable of fighting cancer.