The peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2014 by publishing a series of Perspectives by top researchers in the field of cell and gene therapy. Five "Pioneer" scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are among the 21 investigators who will be honored throughout the next 12 months. The scientists, who have made seminal contributions for an extended period of time, were chosen for their seminal contributions to the field in a “ground breaking clinical study or a basic/technical advance that has substantially influenced the direction and/or trajectory of translational research,” according to the journal. The Pioneer awardees from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine are Carl H. June, MD (CARs for cancer gene therapy/lentiviral gene therapy clinical trials, co-awardee) and James M. Wilson, MD, PhD (basic and clinical AAV vector development).