Jonathan Watts

Jonathan Watts is a Professor at the UMass Chan Medical School's RNA Therapeutics Institute and holds multiple academic positions across the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. His primary focus is on RNA-based therapies, gene editing technologies, and nucleic acid delivery systems. Watts earned his BS in Chemistry from Dalhousie University and his PhD in Bio-organic Chemistry from McGill University.

His research integrates molecular biology, drug design, and clinical application to develop treatments for genetic disorders. Key areas include antisense oligonucleotides for neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., ALS), CRISPR-Cas9 and prime editing systems, and viral vector engineering for in vivo gene therapy. Notable contributions include work on APOBEC3 inhibitors, dNTP optimization for prime editing, and mitigating oligonucleotide toxicity in the CNS.

Watts has authored over 150 publications in top journals like *Nature Biotechnology*, *Lancet*, and *Molecular Therapy*. His collaborations span academia and industry, including NIH-funded programs for somatic cell genome editing. He actively contributes to translational research, aiming to bridge nucleic acid chemistry with clinical outcomes for conditions like fragile X syndrome, glioblastoma, and SARS-CoV-2 infection.