Advancing Gene Therapy: KJ’s Story
From BREAKING THROUGH with Madeline Bell by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
August 22, 2025 · 32 min · Episode 22
About this episode
This episode features KJ's parents discussing their child's groundbreaking gene therapy treatment at CHOP.
Earlier this year, baby KJ became the first patient in the world to receive a personalized gene editing therapy, which was developed by a team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Penn Medicine. In June, KJ went home after spending more than 300 days at CHOP. On this episode of Breaking Through, Madeline speaks to KJ’s parents, Kyle and Nicole, about the treatment that changed KJ’s life – and how he’s doing today.
People in this episode
Host: Madeline Bell
Guests: Kyle, Nicole
Topics covered
- gene therapy
- personalized medicine
- pediatric health
- patient stories
- medical innovation
Keywords
- gene editing
- KJ
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- Penn Medicine
- pediatric gene therapy
- medical treatment
- patient experience
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn Medicine
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- New Frontiers in Injury Prevention · August 15, 2024 · 26 min
- Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease · June 17, 2024 · 29 min
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