VIRAL VECTOR & GENE EDITING CORE
Personnel
Boris Kantor, M.Sc., Ph.D., is Director of the Viral Vector & Genome Editing Core Facility at the Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases (IPRD) at Florida State University College of Medicine, where he leads the design, development, production, and deployment of advanced AAV, lentiviral and CRISPR-based gene-editing tools in support of both basic and translational rare-disease research. Kantor brings decades of experience in viral-vector engineering and gene-therapy technology, enabling the Core to offer state-of-the-art services—from custom plasmid cloning to full-scale vector production and novel gene-editing platforms—across university, clinical and industry partnerships. His leadership fortifies IPRD’s capacity to accelerate next-generation gene- and cell-therapies for pediatric rare disorders and supports its mission to bridge discovery and intervention for children with genetic conditions.
boris.kantor@med.fsu.edu
Leanne Duke, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the IPRD, where she works with Boris Kantor in the Viral Vector and Genome Editing Core. She brings eight years of research experience in virology, molecular and cellular biology, and gene delivery technologies, with specialized expertise in viral vector design, AAV and lentiviral production, and advanced molecular cloning. Duke earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from FSU, where her research focused on extracellular vesicle biogenesis and therapeutic applications, contributing to ten peer-reviewed publications and numerous national and international presentations. Her work has spanned Alzheimer’s disease models, viral pathogenesis, stem-cell–derived therapeutics, and scalable bioprocess development for translational applications. In the IPRD Core, Duke supports vector engineering, genome editing workflows, and preclinical technology development, ensuring high-quality reagents and methodologies for IPRD’s research and therapeutic innovation programs. She is also an experienced mentor and scientific communicator, with a strong commitment to collaborative, high-standards laboratory research that advances precision medicine for pediatric rare diseases.