Urnov briefed National Press Foundation fellows in November 2023: Can Gene Editing Yield Health Justice?

Fyodor Urnov is a Professor of Molecular Therapeutics at UC Berkeley and a Scientific Director at its Innovative Genomics Institute. He co-developed the toolbox of the human genome and epigenome editing. He led the team that developed a strategy for genome editing in hemoglobinopathies, sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia that has yielded sustained clinical benefit for subjects in several ongoing clinical trials. At the IGI, Fyodor directs efforts to develop scalable CRISPR-based approaches to treat diseases of the immune system, sickle cell disease, neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation. His recent op-ed in the New York Times describes a major goal for the field of genome editing, and a key focus of Fyodor’s work at the IGI – expanding access to CRISPR therapies for N=1 genetic disease.