Dr. Urnov is a pioneer in the field of genome editing, with a diverse background in academia, industry and the nonprofit sector. He joined the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) as Scientific Director of Technology and Translation in 2018. Before joining the IGI he served as the Associate Director of Altius Institutes for Biomedical Sciences. Prior, he was at Sangamo BioSciences from 2000 - 2016, where he co-developed and co-named human genome editing at native loci using engineered nucleases, and led the effort developing all major modalities of editing (correction, disruption, and integration). He also pioneered efforts to use engineered transcription factors for targeted epigenome engineering. As VP of Discovery and Translational Research, he shared leadership responsibilities for preclinical research for the first in vivo clinical trial of an engineered epigenome modulator; the first clinical trial for genome editing; and the first genome-edited crop. He’s authored more than 70 scientific publications and is an inventor of more than 130 issued and pending U.S. patents related to genome editing and targeted gene regulation technology.
Dr. Urnov received his Bachelor’s Degree in Virology from Moscow State University, and his PhD in Biology from Brown University.