Andrew Anzalone, M.D., Ph.D.

Co-Founder and Head of Prime Editing Platform at Prime Medicine, Inc.

Andrew Anzalone joined Prime Medicine in 2020 as the head of the prime editing platform, where he currently leads efforts to advance technological developments in prime editing for human therapeutic applications. Inc).

Dr. Anzalone received his Sc.B. degree in chemistry from Brown University, where he performed undergraduate research in synthetic organic chemistry. He completed his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Columbia University as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program. Dr. Anzalone’s thesis research in Virginia W. Cornish’s laboratory focused on the design and synthesis of fluorescent probes for biological imaging applications, and on the investigation and engineering of RNA-dependent protein translation reprogramming mechanisms in eukaryotes. After completing his graduate studies, Dr. Anzalone pursued postdoctoral research as a Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of David R. Liu at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

In the Liu laboratory, Dr. Anzalone pioneered the development of prime editing, a novel search-and-replace gene editing technology that has the potential to correct the majority of known human genetic variants associated with disease.

Timothy J. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.

CEO and Co-Founder, HeartWorks

The research of Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., focuses on cardiovascular regeneration using bioengineered stem cells. His work is directed at improving scientists’ ability to discover, diagnose and ultimately treat mechanisms of degenerative diseases such as cardiomyopathy that weaken the heart muscle and lead to progressive heart failure.

As a physician/scientist trained in medicine and cardiac developmental biology, Dr. Timothy Nelson has been driven to innovate with available technology with the goal of new product development. Congenital heart disease provides the optimal mix of challenges and opportunities to allow cross-functional teams to succeed and grow a whole new industry.

His mission is to inspire biomedical innovation teams and solve real-world medical problems with a focus on products that will obsolete the traditional processes that define yesterday’s healthcare experience.

Nancy Brown, M.D.

Dean of the Yale School of Medicine and Professor of Internal Medicine C.N.H. Long professor of Internal Medicine

Throughout her career, Dr. Nancy Brown has worked to promote the development of physician-scientists. She established the Vanderbilt Master of Science in Clinical Investigation.

As Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development she established an institutional infrastructure to support physician-scientists in the transition to independence. Dr. Brown served as chair of the Vanderbilt Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief of Vanderbilt University Hospital. Dr. Brown has led a translational research program that focuses on developing new pharmacological strategies to prevent vascular disease in patients with high blood pressure and diabetes.

She was a member of the NIH National Advisory Research Resources Council and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council. Her research has been recognized by the American Heart Association (Harriet Dustan Award), the E.K. Frey-E. Werle Foundation, the American Society of Hypertension and the American Federation for Clinical Research. Dr. Brown is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Linda Clemons

Body Language Expert and CEO of Sisterpreneur®

Linda Clemons is an award-winning Sales and Body Language Expert, or nonverbal communication  expert, with over four decades of experience in coaching entrepreneurs, professionals, celebrities, and  politicians.  

Her international coaching and speaking career has seen her uplift thousands of people, while sharing a  stage with the likes of President Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Wozniak, and Dr. Condoleezza Rice. Ms.  Clemons has been decorated with awards and recognitions that include National Entrepreneur of the  Year by Office Depot, the Top Mentor award by Women of Wealth, a listing in the United States  Congressional Records for Community Work, and by President Obama for Community Work.  

She is currently the CEO of Sisterpreneur® Inc, which educates and empowers female entrepreneurs.

Robert Satcher, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.

Astronaut and Surgical Oncologist 

Dr. Robert Satcher is recognized for his varied career interests and notable successes, from his training  as a chemical engineer, to his practice as an orthopaedic surgeon in oncology, and service as a mission  specialist astronaut and first orthopaedic surgeon astronaut for NASA. 

Dr. Satcher flew on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-129, in November 2009, during which he performed  two spacewalks totaling over 12 hours of extravehicular activity. Dr. Satcher’s research has focused on  understanding how cancer spreads to the skeleton, with a focus on discovering new curative treatment  options using cellular, molecular, and personalized medicine strategies.  

He has over 100 peer reviewed publications, and has received research grants from DOD and NIH, and  serves on grant review panels for NCI.

Drew Weismann, M.D., Ph.D.

2023 Nobel Prize Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base  modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. 

2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Drew Weissman, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist whose ground-breaking work with RNA Biology led  to a Nobel Prize in Medicine. His research laid the foundation for the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19  developed by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna. Dr. Weissman is a Professor of Medicine at the Perelman  School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  

His laboratory’s work focuses on the study of RNA and innate immune system biology. One of Dr.  Weissman’s first projects began using an mRNA encoding antigen as a delivery system to load dendritic  cells, which promote broad immune responses as part of a vaccine. This project has expanded to  include basic studies of RNA immunogenicity and translation and the development of applications for  gene therapy.  

Another of Dr. Weissman’s projects develops new HIV envelope immunogens that can induce broad  responses and cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies. A third project continues his previous studies that  identified a protein found on dendritic cells, macrophages, and epithelial cells that bind HIV envelopes  with high affinity. The main focus of this project is testing whether this and related molecules function in  vivo to promote HIV genital tract infection with optimism to create a vaccine for HIV. 

Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D.

2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of a method for high-precision genome editing using the immune system of a bacterium, which disables virus by cutting their DNA with a type of genetic scissors.

Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., is a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, and is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and  a Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of  California, Berkeley.  

Dr. Doudna’s research focuses on RNA biology, leading to the development of CRISPR-Cas9 as  genome-engineering technology. This innovative technology earned Dr. Doudna and her collaborator,  Emmanuelle Charpentier, the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She co-founded and serves on the advisory  panel of several companies that use CRISPR technology in novel ways, leading the discussion of the  ethical implications of CRISPR’s revolutionary technology across biology and medicine.  

Additionally, Doudna is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, senior investigator at  Gladstone Institutes, and the founder of the Innovative Genomics Institute; Dr. Doudna is a member of  several other distinguished scientific and medical societies and has received numerous other honors.  

Current research in the Doudna lab focuses on discovering and determining the mechanisms of novel  CRISPR-Cas and associated proteins; developing genome editing tools for use in vitro, in plants, and in  mammals; and developing anti-CRISPR agents.

M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D.

Surgeon General of the United States, 1993-1994

Dr. Elders was the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified in pediatric endocrinology, the fifteenth Surgeon General of the United States and the first African American, and only the second woman to head the U.S. Public Health Service. Long an outspoken advocate of public health, Dr. Elders was appointed Surgeon General by President Clinton in 1993. In 1996, she wrote her autobiography, Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America. Now retired from practice, she is a professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine and remains active in public health education.

Mario Capecchi, Ph.D.

Science Director, National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists
Winner, 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Winner, 2003 Wolf Prize in Medicine
Winner, 2001 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Recipient, 2001 National Medal of Science

Dr. Capecchi, a biophysicist, is a Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is best known for his groundbreaking work in gene targeting in mouse embryo-derived stem cells. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine, along with Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies, for their work in finding ways to manipulate the mammalian genome by inserting new genes into cells. This research led to the breeding of “knock-out mice” and “knock-in mice,” animals with a single gene removed or inserted. His research interests include analysis of early mouse development, neural development in mammals, gene therapy, and production of murine models of human genetic diseases.