CARBONDALE, Ill. — About 100,000 Americans live with sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that can cause sudden episodes of severe pain when misshapen blood cells obstruct the flow of blood and oxygen through the body. For some patients, these painful crises recur throughout their lives and require hospital care.
Andrew Wilber, Ph.D., is working to change that. His gene therapy research at the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield seeks to give people diagnosed with sickle cell anemia or the related condition, beta-thalassemia, the prospect of healthier lives. The potential impact of that work is one reason Wilber has been named Southern Illinois University System’s 2026 Inventor of the Year.
Wilber, of the Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, was recognized at the SIU Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 17.