DE222 Honoree: Eric Kmiec
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Title: Executive Director & Chief Scientific Officer
Workplace: ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute & CorriXR Therapeutics
Eric Kmiec
Alma Maters: Rutgers University, Southern Illinois University, University of Florida School of Medicine
Boards: Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Gene & Genome Editing
Q&A: Best advice for your younger self? “Be more patient and think through situations before taking action. I’ve learned over time that there is rarely a downside to reflecting on the consequences of your words and impact on others.”
As one of the nation’s foremost researchers on the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR for the last three decades, Eric Kmiec has brought attention to Delaware from the wider biopharmaceutical industry. The former University of Delaware professor partnered in 2015 with the state’s largest health care system, ChristianaCare, to launch the Gene Editing Institute to further research into the potential to overcome drug resistance in solid tumors. Its programs for treating cancers of the lung, head and neck, and esophageal cancer are now advancing through the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval process toward the clinic. In 2022, he spun out some of the institute’s most promising work in a new startup, CorriXR Therapeutics, that could be a major job creator of the future.
