Sherif Gerges
PhD Student at Harvard University
Sherif Gerges
Sherif Gerges
About
Gerges is a PhD Student at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University and the CEO of Acurasset. He holds a BSc in Molecular Biology from Montclair State University.
Current research
Gerges research focuses on exploring the genetic and biological bases of neuropsychiatric disorders; which hitherto remain among the most untreatable illnesses and are charactered by their complex etiology. Specifically, he combines the genetics that undergird these disorders with cellular transcriptomics to build statistical models that point us to novel genes and pathways that can serve as novel drug targets. Concomitantly, Gerges is also the co-founder and CEO of Acurasset, an early-stage biotechnology company developing oral drugs for chronic liver diseases. Scientifically, this is in-part based on his previous work in studying hepatotropic virus replication at Princeton University with his cofounder, Professor Alexander Ploss.
Future research vision
Girgis future work will be focused on Acurasset. His central focus is to continue to advance our preclinical programs, which consist of a functional cure 1) liver viruses (such as hepatitis B virus infection) 2) solid liver tumors. This will mainly be in the form of scientific/business operations, which include grant-writing, fundraising and working with a medicinal chemist and virologists to move critical experiments forward.
Key publications

Ricardo, C H et al. Histone Acetylome-Wide Association Study of Tuberculosis. Nature Microbiology, 2021.

Satterstrom, F et al. Large-Scale Exome Sequencing Study Implicates Both Developmental and Functional Changes in the Neurobiology of Autism. Cell, 2020.

Al-Anzi, B*, Gerges, S* et al. Modeling and Analysis of Modular Structure in Diverse Biological Networks. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2017.

Benjamin, Y et al. Preclinical Assessment of Antiviral Combination Therapy in a Genetically Humanized Mouse Model for Hepatitis Delta Virus Infection. Science Translational Medicine, 2018.

De Jong, Y P et al. Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Abrogate Established Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Science Translational Medicine, 2014.

Key awards

Intellectual Property Accelerator Fund ($100,000), Princeton University.

Alnylam John Maraganore Scientific Entrepreneurship Award (Semi-finalist).

Nucleate-Petri Award Winner ($200,000, one of five out of 72 teams awarded).

BioNJ's BioPartnering Company Presentation Award Honoree.

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