Watch: Dr. James Wilson, a scientific pioneer, on the future of gene therapy

Dr. James Wilson is a pioneer in gene therapy. That does not mean he is necessarily impressed with the current state of affairs.

“In five years, when we look back on the way we’re executing on gene therapy now, we’re going to realize that things are going to be very different,” Wilson said at the STAT Summit in Cambridge, Mass., recently. “The way in which we’re going to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, potentially cure it, is not the way in which it’s being evaluated in the clinic now.”

In an interview with STAT’s Sharon Begley, Wilson explained why he believes the future of gene therapy will look so much different than it does today. He also reflected on his own career.

Asked how he hoped the first paragraph of his Wikipedia entry will read in 20 years, he was quick with a response: “That I was the Johnny Appleseed of gene therapy.”