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2026 Speakers 

Keynote Speaker

  • Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, ML, MRA

    Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, ML, MRA

    Professor for Translational Research | University of Pennsylvania

    Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, ML, MRA, is the Barry J. Gertz Professor for Translational Research at the Perelman School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Penn Medicine/CHOP Orphan Disease Center. A practicing cardiologist and dedicated educator, his research focuses on developing gene-editing therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Dr. Musunuru also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Human Genetics. In 2025 he co-developed a breakthrough, personalized CRISPR therapy for an infant with a rare metabolic disease. He was named among the 100 Most Influential People of 2026 by TIME magazine.

Featured Speakers 

  • Mohsin Ahmed, MD, PhD

    Mohsin Ahmed, MD, PhD

    Clinical Program Lead & Medical Director, Genetic Medicines | Regeneron 

    Mohsin Ahmed, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist and board-certified psychiatrist with over 20 years of combined clinical and research experience. His expertise spans neurophysiology, synaptic plasticity, and the biological mechanisms underlying memory, with contributions to the development of innovative neural modulation strategies. Dr. Ahmed has held leadership roles, including Principal Investigator at the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene and Associate Medical Director at Regeneron. Currently, he serves as Medical Director in Genetic Medicines & Experimental Sciences at Regeneron while maintaining a clinical psychiatry practice. He earned an MD/PhD from Columbia University with honors in both fields. 
  • Brieana Buckley, PharmD, MS

    Brieana Buckley, PharmD, MS

    Senior Vice President, Development and Program Leadership | Editas Medicine

    Brieana Buckley, PharmD, MS, is Senior Vice President of Development and Program Leadership at Editas Medicine, where she leads program strategy, planning, and development activities across the it’s therapeutic pipeline. With over 20 years of experience in the healthcare and biotechnology industries, her expertise spans all phases of clinical development. She has contributed to ten successful commercial product launches and has extensive experience navigating global healthcare systems to improve access to innovative therapies designed to address unmet medical needs and transform patient outcomes. She holds a PharmD from the University of Utah and an MS in Pharmacoeconomics from the University of Florida. 
  • Stephanie Cherqui, PhD

    Stephanie Cherqui, PhD

    Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics & Director of the UC San Diego Gene Therapy Initiative | UC San Diego 

    Stephanie Cherqui, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics at the University of California San Diego and Director of the UC San Diego Gene Therapy Initiative. Her research focused on developing hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for metabolic and neurological disorders, with a distinguished record of translating fundamental discoveries into clinical applications. Among her most significant achievements is the development of the first-in-human autologous hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for cystinosis, an inherited metabolic disorder. She is the Chair of the Cystinosis Stem Cell and Gene Therapy Consortium, and a member of the ASCGT Gene and Cell Therapy of Genetic and Metabolic Diseases committee. 
  • Brian P. Head, PhD

    Brian P. Head, PhD

    Professor of Anesthesiology & VA Research Career Scientist | UC San Diego & VA San Diego Healthcare System 

    Brian Head, PhD, is a Research Career Scientist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System and Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of California San Diego. He has over two decades of experience in research focused on AAV-mediated gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and TDP-43–related disorders. He was elected a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors in 2026. A gene therapy program he helped develop for ALS which was acquired by Eikonoklastes Therapeutics received Investigational New Drug clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2025.
  • Olivia Kim-McManus, MD

    Olivia Kim-McManus, MD

    Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences | UC San Diego, Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine

    Olivia Kim-McManus, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and a physician-scientist supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Board-certified in pediatric neurology, epilepsy, and clinical neurophysiology, her research focuses on precision therapeutics for rare genetic diseases, including antisense oligonucleotides. Dr. Kim-McManus has extensive IND regulatory experience and serves as principal investigator on multiple intrathecal and intraventricular clinical programs. She is also Vice Chief of the Neurology MSEC Section at Rady Children's Hospital and serves on several advisory and scientific review boards. 
  • Alexis C. Komor, PhD

    Alexis C. Komor, PhD

    Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry | UC San Diego  

    Alexis Komor, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California San Diego. She received her BS in Chemistry from University of California Berkeley and her PhD from California Institute of Technology, and completed postdoctoral training with David Liu at Harvard University, where she co-developed base editing, a genome editing technology that avoids double-stranded DNA breaks. Her research focuses on advancing precision genome editing technologies, understanding their mechanisms, and applying them to study disease-associated mutations. 
  • Prashant Mali, PhD

    Prashant Mali, PhD

    Professor of Bioengineering | UC San Diego 

    Prashant Mali, PhD, is a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California San Diego. His research lies at the intersection of synthetic biology and regenerative medicine, with a focus on developing gene- and cell-based therapeutic technologies. Dr. Mali earned his B.Tech. and M.Tech. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and completed postdoctoral training in Genetics at Harvard Medical School. He has received numerous honors and was elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2022 and the National Academy of Inventors in 2023. 
  • Laurence Mignon, PhD

    Laurence Mignon, PhD

    Vice President of Clinical Development | n-Lorem Foundation  

    Laurence Mignon, PhD, is Vice President of Clinical Development at n-Lorem Foundation. She has over 20 years of experience in academic research and clinical development focusing on rare diseases. She previously worked at Ionis Pharmaceuticals in Translational Medicine and Clinical Development, contributing to the development of Spinraza for spinal muscular atrophy and initiated the first clinical study in myotonic dystrophy type 1. She also held roles at Orexigen Therapeutics and the Neuroscience Education Institute. Dr. Mignon earned her PhD in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics from Loyola University Chicago and conducted neurology research at University of California Los Angeles. 
  • Alysson Muotri, PhD

    Alysson Muotri, PhD

    Professor of Pediatrics, Cellular & Molecular Medicine & Co-Director of Gene Therapy Initiative | UC San Diego

    Dr. Muotri is a professor at UC San Diego, Co-Director of the Gene Therapy Initiative, and Director at several university centers focused on stem cells, space, and evolutionary biology. His research focuses on brain evolution and modeling neurological diseases using human induced pluripotent stem cells and brain organoids. His awards include the prestigious NIH Director’s New Innovator Award & the NIH Replication Award, two Telly Awards for Excellence in Science Communication, among several others. Dr. Muotri earned a BSc in Biological Sciences and a Ph.D. in Genetics in Brazil. As a Pew Latin America Fellow at the Salk Institute, he pursued postdoctoral training in neuroscience and stem cell biology. 

Featured Panelists 

  • Dan Oliver, MBA

    Dan Oliver, MBA

    CEO & Co-founder | Rejuvenate Bio

    Daniel Oliver is the CEO and co-founder of Rejuvenate Bio, a startup out of George Church’s Lab pioneering gene therapy solutions for age-related chronic diseases. Rejuvenate Bio’s initial focus on cardiovascular health involves a groundbreaking "one-shot" treatment for heart disease and obesity. The company’s validation in companion animals has led to partnerships with major players in animal health. Prior to Rejuvenate Bio, Daniel was awarded a Blavatnik Fellowship and he co-founded Voxel8, named one of the 50 most innovative companies by the MIT Technology Review. Daniel received his MBA from Harvard Business School and has degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business from the California Institute of Technology. 
  • Nicole Paulk, PhD

    Nicole Paulk, PhD

    CEO & Founder | Siren Biotechnology 

    Nicole Paulk, PhD is the CEO and Founder of Siren Biotechnology and has dedicated her career to advancing gene therapy. Nicole is a pioneer in the development of next-generation AAV platforms for gene transfer and gene editing, directed evolution for engineered capsids, and multi-omic approaches to interrogate AAV biology for countless diseases. Before founding Siren, Nicole held various positions in academia and industry, and most notably was faculty in the UCSF Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics. Nicole has a BS in Microbiology, a PhD in Gene Therapy from OHSU, and completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship and Instructorship in Human Gene Therapy at Stanford University before starting her lab at UCSF.  
  • Karen Potter, PhD, JD

    Karen Potter, PhD, JD

    Partner | Morrison Foerster 

    Karen Potter, PhD, JD, is a nationally recognized patent attorney and leader of the Cell and Gene Therapy Patent Practice at Morrison Foerster in San Diego, California. With over 20 years of experience in life sciences intellectual property law, her practice focuses on patent strategy, prosecution, portfolio management, and strategic counseling for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Her expertise includes cell and gene therapies, immunotherapies, vaccines, diagnostics, and protein therapeutics. Dr. Potter earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology from Duke University and completed postdoctoral research at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology. 
  • Sharif Tabebordbar, PhD

    Sharif Tabebordbar, PhD

    Global Head of Cell and Gene Therapies | Novartis 

    Sharif Tabebordbar, PhD, is Global Head of Cell and Gene Therapies at the Novartis Biomedical Research. He earned his PhD in developmental and regenerative biology from Harvard University and completed postdoctoral training at the Broad Institute. Previously, he was Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kate Therapeutics, which was acquired by Novartis in 2024. His research focuses on engineering AAV capsids and regulatory elements using machine learning to develop gene therapies for genetic diseases. He provided the first proof-of-concept for in vivo gene editing to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy and developed key platforms for muscle-directed gene delivery.