Biography:Fyodor Urnov

From HandWiki
Fyodor Urnov
Born
Фёдор Урнов

1968 (age 57–58)
Russian SFSR
Alma mater
Known forGenome editing
Scientific career
Institutions
Academic advisorsSusan Gerbi

Fyodor Dmitriyevich Urnov (Russian: Фёдор Дми́триевич Урнов; born 1968)[1][2] is a Russian-born biomedical researcher and who has played a leading role in the field of genome editing. He is a Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Development at the University of California, Berkeley and Director of the Center for Translational Genomics at the university's Innovative Genomics Institute.[3][4][5] In 2005 Urnov and his colleagues coined the term "genome editing" and demonstrated the first use of ZFNs to edit DNA in human cells.[6][7][8] Urnov is considered a pioneering figure in the field of genome editing[7] and his work has been cited widely.[9][10][11]

Early life and education

Fyodor Urnov was born in Soviet Russia to a linguist mother and a literary critic father. He was raised in Moscow. Urnov's father frequently purchased him books; on his 12th birthday, Urnov received a copy of James D. Watson's book The Double Helix. The book helped to spark Urnov's early interest in life sciences.[12]

Urnov attended Moscow State University, where he received his undergraduate degree in biology in 1990. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain, Urnov applied to graduate schools in the United States. He attended Brown University for doctoral studies where he worked as a researcher in the laboratory of Susan Gerbi.[12] He received his Ph.D. from Brown in 1996.

Career

After graduating, Urnov worked with DNA in the laboratory of Alan Wolffe at the National Institutes of Health. In 2000, Urnov followed Wolffe to Sangamo Therapeutics where he had been recruited as Chief Scientific Officer. Shortly after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Urnov was offered an adjunct position as a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley.[12]

In 2005 Urnov's team at Sangamo demonstrated the first use of ZFNs to edit DNA in human cells and coined the term "genome editing."[8]

Urnov in a 2020 interview

In 2019 Urnov joined UC Berkeley as Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Development and Director of the Center for Translational Genomics at the Innovative Genomics Institute.[3][4][13]

In 2025 Urnov helped to lead a team that created a customized CRISPR treatment six months after birth for an infant born with a deadly genetic disease, CPS1 deficiency.[14][15]

He is a cofounder of Tune Therapeutics, an epigenome editing company that is beginning a clinical trial in Hong Kong to treat chronic hepatitis B.[16][17] Tune raised a $40M Series A and $175M Series B to fund its efforts in therapeutic development.[18][19]

Honors and awards

  • 2024 Horace Mann Medal, Brown University[20]

References

  1. ↑ Urnov, Fyodor Dmitriyevich (1996). The origin of DNA amplification in Sciara coprophila DNA puff II/9A: nucleotide sequence, chromatin structure, and protein-DNA interactions (Thesis). OCLC 83539763.
  2. ↑ Урнов, Дмитрий (2021-06-12) (in ru). Литература как жизнь. Том I. Litres. ISBN 978-5-04-349013-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZQIxEAAAQBAJ. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Fyodor Urnov" (in en-US). 10 November 2021. https://innovativegenomics.org/people/fyodor-urnov/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Fyodor Urnov Appointed IGI Scientific Director of Technology and Translation" (in en-US). 2 October 2019. https://innovativegenomics.org/news/fyodor-urnov-appointed/. 
  5. ↑ "Fyodor Urnov | Research UC Berkeley". https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/fyodor-urnov. 
  6. ↑ Morange, Michel (2020-06-09) (in en). The Black Box of Biology: A History of the Molecular Revolution. Harvard University Press. pp. 307. ISBN 978-0-674-24525-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=HOPfDwAAQBAJ. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Friedrichs, Steffi; Takasu, Yoko; Kearns, Peter; Dagallier, Bertrand; Oshima, Ryudai; Schofield, Janet; Moreddu, Catherine (2019-08-01). "Meeting report of the OECD conference on "Genome Editing: Applications in Agriculture—Implications for Health, Environment and Regulation"" (in en). Transgenic Research 28 (3): 419–463. doi:10.1007/s11248-019-00154-1. ISSN 1573-9368. PMID 31309374. PMC 6647521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-019-00154-1. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Corbyn, Zoë (December 2015). "Research: Biology's big hit" (in en). Nature 528 (7580): S4–S5. doi:10.1038/528S4a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 26630597. Bibcode: 2015Natur.528S...4C. 
  9. ↑ David, Cyranoski. "DNA Editing of Human Embryos Alarms Scientists" (in en). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dna-editing-of-human-embryos-alarms-scientists/. 
  10. ↑ Sheridan, Cormac (2021-12-15). "Off-the-shelf, gene-edited CAR-T cells forge ahead, despite safety scare" (in en). Nature Biotechnology 40 (1): 5–8. doi:10.1038/d41587-021-00027-1. PMID 34912036. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-021-00027-1. 
  11. ↑ "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds: 2014". p. 16. https://pharmacy.umich.edu/sites/default/files/worlds-most-influential-scientific-minds-2014.pdf. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Devoted to DNA" (in en). https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/industry/040116/devoted-to-dna. 
  13. ↑ "Fall 2019 New Faculty Profiles" (in en). 2019-11-05. http://mcb.berkeley.edu/news-and-events/transcript/fall-2019-new-faculty-profiles. 
  14. ↑ Sanders, Robert (2025-05-15). "Infant born with deadly disease now thriving thanks to customized CRISPR treatment six months after birth" (in en). https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/15/infant-born-with-deadly-disease-now-thriving-thanks-to-customized-crispr-treatment-six-months-after-birth/. 
  15. ↑ Kolata, Gina (2025-05-15). "Baby Is Healed With World's First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/health/gene-editing-personalized-rare-disorders.html. 
  16. ↑ "News: Tune Therapeutics to Initiate Clinical Trial of First-In-Class Epigenetic Silencer in Chronic Hepatitis B" (in en). https://crisprmedicinenews.com/news/tune-therapeutics-to-initiate-clinical-trial-of-first-in-class-epigenetic-silencer-in-chronic-hepati/. 
  17. ↑ "Tune Therapeutics receives approval to initiate clinical trial in Hong Kong for HepB Epigenetic Silencer – Intelligent CIO APAC" (in en-GB). https://www.intelligentcio.com/apac/2025/01/08/tune-therapeutics-receives-approval-to-initiate-clinical-trial-in-hong-kong-for-hepb-epigenetic-silencer/. 
  18. ↑ Schubert, Charlotte (2021-12-02). "Tune Therapeutics launches with $40M in funding, aims to fine-tune activity of genes in cells" (in en-US). https://www.geekwire.com/2021/tune-therapeutics-launches-with-40m-in-funding-aims-to-fine-tune-activity-of-genes-in-cells/. 
  19. ↑ "Tune Therapeutics Completes Over $175M in Series B Financing to Advance Field-Leading Epigenome Editing Programs - Tune Therapeutics" (in en-US). 2025-01-13. https://tunetx.com/tune-therapeutics-completes-over-175m-in-series-b-financing-to-advance-field-leading-epigenome-editing-programs/. 
  20. ↑ Ely, Susan. "Fyodor D. Urnov: Pioneering Gene Editing for Medical Breakthroughs" (in en). https://graduateschool.brown.edu/news/2024-05-17/horace-mann-medalist-2023-urnov. 



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