Silvana Konermann
EducationETH Zurich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
SpousePatrick Collison
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
InstitutionsStanford University
Doctoral advisorFeng Zhang

Silvana Konermann is a Swiss-American biochemist whose research involves CRISPR, Cas9, and their use in genome editing. She is an assistant professor of biochemistry at Stanford University, as well as the Director and co-founder of the Arc Institute in Palo Alto.

Life and work

Konermann attended the prestigious Sächsisches Landesgymnasium Sankt Afra zu Meißen in Saxony, Germany, before matriculating in 2006 at ETH Zurich, where she completed her bachelor of science degree in neurobiology in three years.

She then moved to the United States and worked in the lab of Carlos Lois before entering the doctoral program in neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving her Ph.D. in 2016 working in Feng Zhang's group. Since 2017, she has been an HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) Hanna H. Gray Fellow. She has also been a CZ Biohub Investigator and a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, Berkeley working with Patrick Hsu. In 2019, she joined Stanford as an assistant professor.[1]

Konermann's research uses new genetic tools to identify and understand the workings of the "complex web of genes" that appear to make a person predisposed to the neurodegenerative Alzheimer’s disease. Although one of the strongest risk factors for this disease is a gene called APOE, and patients who carry the APOE4 version of the gene have shown increased risk, those with a variation, APOE2, are protected. By using a CRISPR gene editing tool, Konermann is searching for other genes that interact with APOE.[1]

21546 Konermann, a minor planet, was named after her, in honor of her 2006 second-place finish in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. At that time she was a senior at Sankt Afra in Meissen, Germany.[2]

In June 2022, Konermann married Irish tech billionaire Patrick Collison, who is co-founder and CEO of Stripe, Inc., with whom she co-founded the Fast Grants and later the Arc Institute.[3] Konermann met Collison during the 2004 EU Young Scientist competition.[3][4][5]

References

  1. 1 2
    • "Silvana Konermann". Stanford Biochemistry.
    • "Arc Institute". arcinstitute.org.
    • Thompson, Derek (20 January 2022). "Silicon Valley's New Obsession". The Atlantic.
    • "HHMI Selects 15 Hanna Gray Fellows to Support Diversity in Science". hhmi.org.
  2. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2012). "21546 Konermann". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (6th ed.). Springer. p. 1020. ISBN 9783642297182.
  3. 1 2 Butler, Roisin (29 June 2022). "Inside Stripe CEO Patrick Collison's family life as he weds childhood sweetheart". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Backed by tech entrepreneurs, Arc Institute adds to its scientific ranks". www.bizjournals.com. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Piper, Kelsey (21 April 2020). "This new charity offers scientists coronavirus grants in 48 hours". Vox.
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