Fyodor Urnov, Ph.D.

Fyodor Urnov, Ph.D.
Professor of Molecular Therapeutics at University of California, Berkeley; Scientific Director of the Innovative Genomics Institute

Fyodor Urnov is a pioneering scientist in genome and epigenome editing, with a career spanning foundational discovery through first-in-human clinical translation. He is a Professor of Molecular Therapeutics at University of California, Berkeley and serves as Director of Technology & Translation at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). Across academia and industry, Dr. Urnov has played a central role in shaping the modern field of genome editing and advancing its earliest clinical applications. 

Dr. Urnov co-developed the core toolbox of human genome and epigenome editing, co-named genome editing, and was part of the team that advanced the field’s first-in-human applications to the clinic. His work includes leading the effort that identified the genome-editing target underlying an approved therapy for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, representing a landmark in translating gene editing into transformative medicines. 

A central focus of Dr. Urnov’s work is expanding access to CRISPR-based therapies for genetic disease. To that end, he directs the Danaher-IGI Beacon for CRISPR Cures, a first-in-class academia-industry partnership developing scalable, clinically deployable CRISPR platforms for severe Mendelian diseases, particularly diseases of infancy. He also leads the Center for Pediatric CRISPR Cures, supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which aims to enable “CRISPR-on-demand” approaches that dramatically shorten timelines from diagnosis to treatment. In 2025, Dr. Urnov served as the IGI lead on a multi-institutional collaboration that reported a landmark clinical trial in the New England Journal of Medicine, describing a customized CRISPR therapy delivered to a newborn with a lethal metabolic disorder. 

Earlier in his career, Dr. Urnov conducted research at the National Institutes of Health and held senior scientific leadership roles at Sangamo Therapeutics, where his team demonstrated the first targeted genome editing in human cells. He is also a co-founder of Tune Therapeutics, an epigenome-editing company advancing clinical programs for chronic viral disease. 

Dr. Urnov holds a Ph.D. in biology and has authored widely cited publications that have helped define the scientific and translational foundations of genome editing.