The LifeArc Centre for Rare Mitochondrial Diseases had the pleasure of hosting Dr Sam Barrell CBE (Chief Executive Officer), Karen Skinner (Chief Operating Officer), and Alessandra Gaeta (Head of Rare Disease) from LifeArc, in December 2025.
Patrick Chinnery, Heather Biggs, Rita Horvath, Jelle Van Den Ameele and Michal Minczuk, presented information about the UK’s first national mitochondrial disease treatment platform. This initiative connects specialists, scientists and patients to advance diagnostics, validate clinically relevant biomarkers and establish a national experimental medicine and clinical trial platform. Cutting-edge projects include AAV vectors for mtDNA-editing enzymes and an AAV-based treatment for MNGIE. A tour of the Cambridge Clinical Vision Lab (CCVL), where retinal biomarkers are in development was also given.
