Arun Srivastava, Ph.D.

President and Chief Scientific Officer, Founder

Dr. Srivastava, Professor in the Division of Cellular and Molecular Therapy in the departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics & Microbiology and a member of the Powell Gene Therapy Center, UF Genetics Institute and UF Health Cancer Center, was recognized for his distinguished contributions over more than four decades to the field of gene therapy.

His fundamental studies of adeno-associated virus, or AAV, molecular biology and the development of next-generation and optimized AAV vectors have paved the way for new and more effective treatments for genetic diseases.

Dr. Srivastava has received uninterrupted research funding for 41 years from the National Institutes of Health, been awarded 21 U.S. patents, founded four startups and mentored 45 postdoctoral and clinical fellows. His laboratory has identified two AAV vectors that efficiently transduce primary human cells, and his current research focuses on gene therapy for genetic diseases such as hemophilia and muscular dystrophies, malignant disorders such as liver cancers, and “nuclease-free” genome editing for β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease.

Dr. Srivastava was elected as a 2024 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyun Qing, MD

Vice President and Director of Research, Founder

Dr. Qing has a broad background in molecular biology and virology, with specific training and expertise in areas related to gene therapy using recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Indiana University School of Medicine, he focused on the study of the molecular biology of AAV in Dr. Arun Srivastava’s laboratory, where he made a number of seminal discoveries. These studies also resulted in the development of novel recombinant AAV vectors for efficient gene transfer in different cell lines in vitro and in animal models in vivo.

Following a brief stint as a junior faculty member in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he was involved in training a number of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and research staff, he accepted a position as a Scientist at Eli Lilly and Company, where he worked for over sixteen years. In Lilly research laboratory, Dr. Qing focused on the studies of recombinant AAV vectors expressing several peptides and neuropeptides, respectively, in disease models leading to development of medicine in the field of type II diabetes and obesity/ metabolic syndrome. In late 2017, Dr. Qing opted for early retirement from Eli Lilly, and joined aaVective as Director of Research, where he has assumed a leadership role in supervising all research personnel.

Dr. Qing obtained his MD and MSc degrees in 1985 and 1988, respectively, from the prestigious Hunan Medical College in Changsha, China.

Alok Srivastava, MD, FRACP, FRCPA, FRCP

Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Alok Srivastava is currently Professor of Research at St. John's Research Institute and St. John's Medical College Hospital, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore. He has been involved with the management of patients with bleeding disorders for over 35 years. His group has worked extensively on developing laboratory methods and clinical protocols that are applicable in developing countries with particular emphasis on cost-sensitive genetic diagnosis protocols for a range of hereditary bleeding disorders, factor replacement therapies, especially for surgical procedures, and meaningful assessment of long-term outcomes. Their current focus is on establishing cost effective models for prophylaxis as well as novel therapies for bleeding disorders including gene therapy.

Dr. Srivastava currently chairs the steering committee of the Asia Pacific Hemophilia Working Group. He was the Chair of the FVIII/IX Subcommittee of the Scientific and Standardization Committee (SSC), International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) from 2006-2010. He currently chairs the task force of the FVIII/IX Subcommittee of the SSC of the ISTH on gene therapy for hemophilia. He was on the board of the WFH from 2002 until 2014 and served as the Vice-President (Medical) from 2012 to 2014. He is the chair of writing group of the WFH guidelines for the management of hemophilia.

Dr. Srivastava’s landmark paper titled “Lentiviral Gene Therapy with CD34+ Hematopoietic Cells for Hemophilia A” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 392 (5): 450-457, 2025.

Roland W. Herzog, PhD

Scientific Advisory Board

Roland W. Herzog, PhD, is a Professor of Pediatrics, Riley Children's Foundation Professor of Immunology, and Director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Program. His research interests are in gene therapy and immune tolerance for hemophilia and in AAV vectors. He received a PhD in Microbiology from Auburn University in 1996, followed by postdoctoral training at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and faculty appointment at the University of Pennsylvania, before joining the University of Florida in 2005 and then Indiana University in 2018.

Dr. Herzog received multiple awards for his research from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, the National Hemophilia Foundation, the Bayer Hemophilia Program, and the University of Florida Research Foundation, among others. He previously served as editor-in-chief of Molecular Therapy. Dr. Herzog’s work is supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Tung Wynn, MD

Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Wynne is currently Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Florida. He is also the Director of the Pediatric Hemostasis Program and the UF Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Program.

Dr. Wynne currently holds professional memberships with the American Society of Hematology, Florida Medical Association, Children’s Oncology Group, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Wynne attended Northeastern Ohio Medical University for medical school and stayed at Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron to complete his pediatric residency. He then completed his fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He then became an attending physician in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa in 2003.