David Dismuke, Ph.D.

David Dismuke is the Chief Technical Officer at Forge Biologics, leading GMP manufacturing teams with his 20+ years of experience in large-scale CGT manufacturing. Dr. Dismuke is regarded as an authority in the bioprocessing and design of gene therapy vectors and has led CMC operations in the manufacturing of pre-clinical and clinical-grade AAV vectors for over a decade. Prior to joining Forge as the inaugural CTO, he was Vice President of Manufacturing at StrideBio where he directed the development of manufacturing and analytical processes for AAV vectors that utilize novel capsids. In addition, Dr. Dismuke led the design of therapeutic and reporter transgenes and innovative molecular enhancements to improve AAV production and therapeutic function. He served as Head of Vector Production at Voyager Therapeutics, where he led teams in the manufacturing and analytical testing of AAV using the baculovirus/Sf9 production system. Dr. Dismuke was also Director of the UNC Vector Core, where he oversaw GMP operations as well as the production of research-grade vectors. He earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, focusing on the molecular biology and lifecycle of HIV-1, and conducted postdoctoral research at UNC Chapel Hill.