معرفی
Stephen C. Ekker, Ph.D., serves as Professor of Pediatrics at Dell Medical School and Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin. He holds dual leadership roles as Associate Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Dell Medical School and Associate Vice President of Research Translation for the university.
A pioneering genome engineer with 30+ years of experience, Dr. Ekker develops molecular DNA editing tools using zebrafish in vivo and human cells in vitro to decode genomic functions and create novel therapeutics. His research embodies the bench-to-business-to-bedside translation model, emphasizing entrepreneurial pathways for scientific discovery. Key focus areas include mitochondrial disease therapies and companion animal gene editing through ventures like LifEngine Animal Health Laboratories.
His work has received continuous National Institutes of Health funding for over two decades, supporting more than 170 scientific publications. As a serial entrepreneur, he co-founded Discovery Genomics Inc. (acquired by Immusoft in 2016), served as scientific advisor for Opentrons Labworks during its unicorn growth, and established Primera Therapeutics and LifEngine Technologies Inc. He previously served as President of the Genome Writers Guild (2017-2019) and Zebrafish Disease Models Society (2016-2017).
Dr. Ekker leverages his experience as former Dean of Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to shape innovation education at UT Austin. He directs the development of university-wide entrepreneurship programs while maintaining active research in genome editing, with current initiatives focusing on programmed B-cell therapies and mitochondrial disease treatments through his scientific founding roles.
