Eric N. Olson
Born (1955-09-27) September 27, 1955
Rochester, New York

Eric Newell Olson (born September 27, 1955 in Rochester, New York[1]) is an American molecular biologist. He is professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he also holds the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Science, the Annie and Willie Nelson Professorship in Stem Cell Research, and the Pogue Distinguished Chair in Research on Cardiac Birth Defects.[2]

Biography

Olson grew up in North Carolina and attended Wake Forest University, receiving a B.A. in Chemistry and Biology, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. After postdoctoral training at Washington University School of Medicine, he began his scientific career at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In 1995, he founded the Department of Molecular Biology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Olson and his trainees discovered many of the key genes and mechanisms responsible for development of the heart and other muscles. His laboratory also unveiled the signaling pathways responsible for pathological cardiac growth and heart failure. Olson’s discoveries at the interface of developmental biology and medicine have illuminated the fundamental principles of organ formation and have provided new concepts in the quest for cardiovascular therapeutics. His most recent work has provided a new strategy for correction of Duchenne muscular dystrophy using CRISPR gene editing.

Olson is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His work has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Basic Research Prize and Research Achievement Award from the American Heart Association, the Pasarow Medical Research Award, the Pollin Prize, the Passano Award, and the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology. In 2009, the French Academy of Science awarded Dr. Olson the Lefoulon-Delalande Grand Prize for Science. He is among the most highly cited scientists in the world, with his work having been cited over 100,000 times in the scientific literature.[3]

Olson has co-founded multiple biotechnology companies to design new therapies for heart muscle disease. He was cofounder of Myogen, Inc, a biotechnology company focusing on therapies to intervene with pathological cardiac signaling. In 2007, he co-founded miRagen Therapeutics to develop microRNA-based therapeutics.[4] In 2017, he co-founded Tenaya Therapeutics, which is leveraging gene regulatory mechanisms to promote heart regeneration and repair. Most recently, he founded Exonics Therapeutics, to advance gene editing as a therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.[5]

In his spare time, he plays guitar and harmonica with The Transactivators, a rock band inspired by the Texas troubadour, Willie Nelson, who created the Professorship that supports his research.[6]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ↑ "Eric Olson curriculum vitae" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  2. ↑ "Eric Olson, Ph.D." UT Southwestern Medical Center.
  3. ↑ "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com.
  4. ↑ "miRagen Company Founders". miRagen. July 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ Exonics Therapeutics
  6. ↑ "ASBMBtoday Science Focus "Heart Matters"".
  7. ↑ "National Academy of Sciences". nas.nasonline.org.
  8. ↑ "March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "American Heart Association Award". American Heart Association.
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