Why join the cell and gene therapy?

It all started back in 1991 when I became a student at the clinical laboratory sciences (CLS) division. Graduating from CLS provided me with the skills and knowledge to work in research- or clinical-based laboratories. Such laboratories are not only the backstage of so many inventions, but also a strong employment opportunity. Using CLS as a foundation, you too can embark on many exciting adventures that will take you to new venues.

One very exciting venue that you may become part of is the cell and gene therapy (CGT). CGT hosts several disciplines where laboratory technologists compose a corner stone of the field. In CGT, laboratory technologists are involved not only in clinical production but also in research, quality assurance and control, and testing.

If you want to take your CLS experience to a new level, CGT is a good fit for you. CGT builds on your technical skills, your critical thinking, and your strive to the better. CGT builds on all these to develop, implement, and provide products that really changes the outcome to the better.

1. From diagnostics to therapeutics: get beyond diagnosing the disease to actually being part of treating it. By making the therapeutic product, you participate in reviving the patient’s purpose of life.
2. Create hope: shifting the paradigm; for diseases that had no cure, no more. Many cancers are now being treated with various CGT products; a change that gives cancer patients and their loved ones a new hope. More in this post.

1. Witness the change: by making therapeutics and creating hope, your impact is evident on patients who get treated and start to manage their disease.
2. Ahead of the curve: as an industry, the cell therapy and regenerative medicine is booming around the world, our region is no exception. This expansion would open up whole new opportunities at so many levels to those working in this field.

CGT is just one great example that CLS prepares your for, but there are many more areas that may utilize CLS as a foundation; I am glad I am a CLS graduate.

Let us know if we missed anything, or if you would like a specific subject to be discussed, write to us. 

About the author

Naseem Almezel, earned his MSc degree in Cellular Therapies in 2010, since then his career focus is to support Bone Marrow Transplant and Oncology programs. Naseem likes to work in the lab doing translational research, or in the cleanroom doing GMP production. When he is not working, Naseem likes to read and to spend time outdoors. Find more about Naseem here