Our Mission

Building high-performance genetic technologies that transform patient lives

Our team

Relentless problem-solvers

Our technologies are powerful–but our greatest strength is our drive and work ethic.

All

Jacob Grush

Gene Therapy

Jacob Grush

Gene Therapy

Jacob received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he concentrated in evolutionary biology and population genetics and participated in research focused on pollinator-mediated gene flow in plant populations. He has worked for several years in industry labs in the Boston area, most recently on Biogen’s Gene Therapy Cargo subteam where he worked to advance clinical candidate molecules to the lead identification stage. In his spare time he can be found hydroponic gardening, cooking and baking, or playing magic the gathering.

Kosta Kleitsas

Vice President, Head of People

Kosta Kleitsas

Vice President, Head of People

Kosta has spent nearly 20 years developing, leading and executing human resources strategies, operations and processes that drive successful business, culture and people outcomes. Prior to joining Dyno, Kosta was Director, Organizational Effectiveness at Valo, where he was responsible for developing and expanding the talent capabilities to help the organization scale, this included talent acquisition, talent management, performance management and compensation. Before Valo, he held various talent and human resources positions for a number of companies, in the biotech and information technology industries. Kosta earned a BS in Economics and Finance from Bentley University. When not at work, Kosta enjoys spending time with family and friends, building things and relaxing in the sun.

Bridget Byrne

Stewardship

Bridget Byrne

Stewardship

With a degree in anthropology and archaeology, Bridget has always been drawn to exploring the past and how it informs the present. She began her career by working as an independent contractor in the historic conservation and restoration field, then went on to own her own restoration business. Her passion for STEM and leadership led her to return to school to pursue additional opportunities in engineering and biotechnology. Lessons learned from combining hands-on projects with project management help inform her current career in Operations. Outside of work Bridget loves to read and take dance classes.

Alice Tirard

Corporate Communications

Alice Tirard

Corporate Communications

Alice is a science communication specialist with a background in genetics research and interactive design. They earned a dual degree from Yale University, where they focused on conveying complex biological concepts to a broader audience through illustration and animation. Before Dyno, Alice worked at the Villani Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, investigating cancer immunology using single cell methods. On weekends Alice can be found painting, biking around with their film camera, or exploring local museums.

Sam Sinai, PhD

Vice President, Head of ML & Cofounder

Sam Sinai, PhD

Vice President, Head of ML & Cofounder

Sam is a computational biologist with expertise in evolution and machine learning. He received his PhD under George Church and Martin Nowak at Harvard, where he used mathematics and machine learning to develop models of biological systems. In particular, he developed the underpinnings of Dyno’s machine learning strategy in collaboration with Eric, and has co-authored multiple papers on the subject. He previously obtained his B.S. and M.Eng. in computer science at MIT with a focus on A.I., and had a brief stint in medical school. Sam enjoys techno, soccer, and philosophy.

Nishith Nagabhushana

Gene Therapy

Nishith Nagabhushana

Gene Therapy

Nishith is a vector production specialist. She has a strong background in molecular biology and immunology with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Pennsylvania State University. Her past research experience at the Naval Medical Research Center has been focused on vaccine development for infectious diseases including dengue, influenza and enteric diseases. She has previously worked as a medical communications specialist and enjoys writing about science. Nishith loves water sports and enjoys swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving.

Roshana Krishnamurthy

Gene Therapy

Roshana Krishnamurthy

Gene Therapy

Roshana is a research associate in the Gene Therapy team. Prior to joining Dyno full time, she was an intern on the single cell team and worked on the preparation of NGS libraries for sn-RNAseq. She completed her Master’s in Biotechnology at Texas A&M University while also working as a teaching assistant in the Department of Chemistry at the university. She was also a student researcher for a semester at the Cirillo lab at Texas A&M where she worked on the expression and purification of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins using mammalian cells. In her spare time, Roshana loves to knit and watch TV shows with friends. She’s currently teaching herself how to crochet and hopes to learn how to embroider, too!

Hanna Mendes Levitin, PhD

Gene Therapy

Hanna Mendes Levitin, PhD

Gene Therapy

Adrian Veres, MD, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer & Cofounder

Adrian Veres, MD, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer & Cofounder

Adrian is a biologist most satisfied by combining experimental and computational approaches to study complex systems. He obtained his PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard University, working with Prof. Douglas Melton on differentiating pancreatic beta cells in vitro to create cell-based therapies for diabetes. He collaborated closely with Semma Therapeutics on applying single-cell RNA sequencing to map in vitro beta cell differentiation, and pooled genetic screening to control this process. He graduated summa cum laude with an A.B. in Physics and Chemistry from Harvard College, during which he studied the evolutionary dynamics of antibiotic resistance in microbes. He holds an MD with Honors from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program. Adrian loves to cook, travel and hike and always enjoys a good new board game.

Crystal Suri, PhD, JD

Vice President, Head of Legal

Crystal Suri, PhD, JD

Vice President, Head of Legal

Crystal has about 20 years experience in all aspects of Intellectual Property (IP) practice for biotechnological innovations. Prior to joining Dyno, Crystal was Head of IP at Iveric Bio, where she developed and executed the company’s overall IP strategy. Prior to Iveric Bio, Crystal developed and managed an extensive patent portfolio for REGENXBIO and was also instrumental in licensing, EP oppositions, US post-grant proceedings, and patent litigation. Prior to REGENXBIO, Crystal gained over 10 years expertise at international law firm, JONES DAY, in patent prosecution, patent licensing, IP due diligences, oppositions, and patent litigation. Crystal obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and JD from Fordham University Law School. Outside of work, Crystal enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with family.

Eric Kelsic, PhD

CEO & Cofounder

Eric Kelsic, PhD

CEO & Cofounder

Prior to founding Dyno, Eric led a team to develop the technology underlying Dyno’s artificial intelligence powered capsid engineering platform in George Church’s lab at the Wyss Institute of Harvard Medical School. There he measured the first comprehensive fitness landscape of the adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid protein and co-discovered the AAV MAAP gene. He earned a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard University and a BS in Physics from Caltech. Under Eric’s leadership Dyno has raised over $100M in VC financing, including a 2021 Series A led by a16z and signed partnership with world-leading gene therapy companies (Novartis, Sarepta, Roche, Spark and Astellas). Dyno was named Xconomy’s 2020 Startup of the Year and Eric was recognized as one of Endpoint’s 20 under 40 next-gen biotech leaders in 2021.

Kosta Kleitsas

Vice President, Head of People

Kosta Kleitsas

Vice President, Head of People

Kosta has spent nearly 20 years developing, leading and executing human resources strategies, operations and processes that drive successful business, culture and people outcomes. Prior to joining Dyno, Kosta was Director, Organizational Effectiveness at Valo, where he was responsible for developing and expanding the talent capabilities to help the organization scale, this included talent acquisition, talent management, performance management and compensation. Before Valo, he held various talent and human resources positions for a number of companies, in the biotech and information technology industries. Kosta earned a BS in Economics and Finance from Bentley University. When not at work, Kosta enjoys spending time with family and friends, building things and relaxing in the sun.

Sam Sinai, PhD

Vice President, Head of ML & Cofounder

Sam Sinai, PhD

Vice President, Head of ML & Cofounder

Sam is a computational biologist with expertise in evolution and machine learning. He received his PhD under George Church and Martin Nowak at Harvard, where he used mathematics and machine learning to develop models of biological systems. In particular, he developed the underpinnings of Dyno’s machine learning strategy in collaboration with Eric, and has co-authored multiple papers on the subject. He previously obtained his B.S. and M.Eng. in computer science at MIT with a focus on A.I., and had a brief stint in medical school. Sam enjoys techno, soccer, and philosophy.

Tyson Bertmaring, MBA

Vice President, Head of Stewardship

Tyson Bertmaring, MBA

Vice President, Head of Stewardship

Tyson is a team-oriented servant leader committed to the success of our partners. He has earned a BS in Management from The United States Air Force Academy and an MBA from Arizona State University. He began his career in the Air Force leading teams across diverse environments, spanning from nuclear deterrence to R&D. Since departing active duty, Tyson has transitioned those experiences to serve R&D teams across both large and small Biopharma companies and alliances. Most recently, Tyson successfully implemented an agile team framework for the AAV research team at CRISPR Therapeutics. Tyson helps Dyno scale to exceed partner expectations while preserving organizational agility. Tyson enjoys spending time with his growing family in any remote outdoor environment.

Yvette Leung, MBA

Vice President, Head of Business Development

Yvette Leung, MBA

Vice President, Head of Business Development

Yvette brings a track record of success in biopharma business development, corporate strategy, and commercial launches. Prior to joining Dyno, Yvette served as a commercial brand lead in the U.S. Hematology Marketing organization at Celgene (now Bristol-Myers Squibb), where she successfully led the US launch of three hematology brands across the myeloid / lymphoma franchise. Prior to Celgene, Yvette was a strategy consultant at L.E.K. Consulting, where she advised a range of life science clients on R&D pipeline prioritization, organizational scale-up, and M&A / growth strategy. Yvette also brings scientific expertise from 8 years of conducting academic lab research, including work on gene therapy approaches for neuroregeneration to treat Parkinson’s disease. Yvette holds an MBA in Health Care Management from The Wharton School and a BA in Chemical and Physical Biology from Harvard. She enjoys hiking, dancing, and foodie adventures!

Alan Crane, MBA

Executive Chairman & Cofounder, Polaris Entrepreneur Partner

Alan Crane, MBA

Executive Chairman & Cofounder, Polaris Entrepreneur Partner

Alan joined Polaris Partners in 2002 and serves as an entrepreneur partner focused on building and investing in healthcare companies. He has served as founder, chairman and/or CEO in building eight Polaris companies. Prior to Dyno, Alan founded Pandion Therapeutics, which raised a $58M series A and is focused on tissue-specific immunomodulation for autoimmune disorders and transplantation. Alan was also a founding investor in KSQ Therapeutics, the leading company using CRISPR to discover the best therapeutic targets for disease intervention. The company has raised over $150M, including a crossover round. Alan’s portfolio companies have collectively been involved in 9 IPOs and M&A exits. Previously, Alan was president and CEO of Momenta Pharmaceuticals. He joined Momenta as the fifth employee and built it into a public company, creating an advanced and diversified pipeline, entering into two strategic collaborations with Novartis and raising $275 million. The first product from Momenta’s pipeline achieved over $1B in sales during its first year. Alan received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award for New England for this work. Prior to Polaris, Alan was senior VP of corporate development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for generating over $2B in partner funding and acquiring 19 development stage products. Among these products was Velcade®, which became the main basis of the company’s $9B acquisition by Takeda. Alan earned a BA in biology, summa cum laude,an MA in biology, and an MBA from Harvard. He also spent two years studying towards an MD at Harvard Medical School.

Dylan Morris

CRV General Partner

Dylan Morris

CRV General Partner

Dylan Morris is a General Partner in CRV’s Bioengineering practice. He has led the firm’s investments in Dyno Therapeutics, Deciduous Therapeutics, Plexium, System1 Biosciences, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, and 3T Biosciences. He previously invested at Innovation Endeavors, an early-stage venture firm backed by Eric Schmidt, of Google/Alphabet. At IE, Dylan drove investments in several companies operating at the intersection of computing and biology, including Freenome, a CRV portfolio company applying deep learning to liquid biopsy for early cancer detection. Previously, he co founded Integrated Plasmonics, a venture-backed point-of-care diagnostics startup. Dylan conducted graduate research in Biophysics at Caltech and received an A.B. in Computer Science from Harvard.Dylan is passionate about accelerating the future of biology. He is excited about opportunities that leverage data to make biological engineering more tractable. He cares deeply about human health and is eager to explore creative ways to stimulate research and hasten the pace of biomedical innovation.

Eric Kelsic, PhD

CEO & Cofounder

Eric Kelsic, PhD

CEO & Cofounder

Prior to founding Dyno, Eric led a team to develop the technology underlying Dyno’s artificial intelligence powered capsid engineering platform in George Church’s lab at the Wyss Institute of Harvard Medical School. There he measured the first comprehensive fitness landscape of the adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid protein and co-discovered the AAV MAAP gene. He earned a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard University and a BS in Physics from Caltech. Under Eric’s leadership Dyno has raised over $100M in VC financing, including a 2021 Series A led by a16z and signed partnership with world-leading gene therapy companies (Novartis, Sarepta, Roche, Spark and Astellas). Dyno was named Xconomy’s 2020 Startup of the Year and Eric was recognized as one of Endpoint’s 20 under 40 next-gen biotech leaders in 2021.

Jorge Conde, MBA

a16z General Partner

Jorge Conde, MBA

a16z General Partner

Jorge Conde is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he leads investments at the cross section of biology, computer science and engineering. Prior to joining a16z, Jorge served as Chief Strategy Officer for Syros (NASDAQ: SYRS), which is advancing a new wave of medicines that control expression of disease-driving genes to treat cancer and other diseases. He previously served as the company's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Product Officer, leading the platform strategy for Syros' novel gene regulation technology. Jorge also cofounded Knome, a human genome interpretation company acquired by Tute Genomics in 2015. Earlier in his career, Jorge worked in marketing and operations at MedImmune and as a biotechnology investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Jorge holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, and a BA in Biology from Johns Hopkins University. Jorge was named one of the top 35 young innovators in the world by the MIT Technology Review and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He previously served on the board of the Museum of Science, Boston.

Debora Marks, PhD

SAB

Debora Marks, PhD

SAB

Debora S. Marks, PhD is an Associate Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Dr. Marks has led a distinguished career in academia and industry, and is an expert in the application of machine learning algorithms for protein design and engineering. She earned her B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Manchester, U.K., and her PhD in Mathematical Biology from Humboldt University, Germany.

George Church, PhD

Scientific Cofounder, SAB

George Church, PhD

Scientific Cofounder, SAB

George is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Technology Center and Director of the National Institutes of Health Center of Excellence in Genomic Science. George leads Synthetic Biology at the Wyss Institute, where he oversees the directed evolution of molecules, polymers, and whole genomes to create new tools with applications in regenerative medicine and bio-production of chemicals. Among his recent work at the Wyss is development of a technology for synthesizing whole genes, and engineering whole genomes, far faster, more accurate, and less costly than current methods. George is widely recognized for his innovative contributions to genomic science and his many pioneering contributions to chemistry and biomedicine. In 1984, he developed the first direct genomic sequencing method, which resulted in the first genome sequence (the human pathogen, H. pylori). His many innovations have been the basis for a number of companies including Editas (Gene therapy); Gen9bio (Synthetic DNA); and Veritas Genetics (full human genome sequencing). He has received numerous awards including the 2011 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute and election to the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering.

Nicole Paulk, PhD

SAB

Nicole Paulk, PhD

SAB

Nicole Paulk, PhD is an Assistant Professor of AAV Gene Therapy at the University of California San Francisco Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics. She is a pioneer in next-generation AAV gene delivery and gene editing platforms. She has developed therapies for gene repair and gene transfer for numerous rare diseases, and has applied high-throughput comparative proteomic and epigenomic approaches to address challenges in fundamental AAV biology. She earned her B.S. in Medical Microbiology from Central Washington University, and her PhD in Viral Gene Therapy from Oregon Health & Science University.

Tomas Bjorklund, PhD

Scientific Co-founder, SAB

Tomas Bjorklund, PhD

Scientific Co-founder, SAB

Tomas is a tenured Associate professor of Neuroscience at Lund University in Sweden. He is the President of the Swedish Society for Neuroscience since 2016. His research focus is on the development of novel therapies for Parkinson’s disease, furthering our understanding of basal ganglia connectomics and developing novel genetic tools. This includes the development of novel AAV capsid engineering methods, spatial sequencing technologies, in vivo genome editing and massively parallel in vivo assays utilizing molecular barcoding and machine learning. Tomas is a founder of Genepod Therapeutics AB, translating gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease towards the clinic and is the inventor of a number of pending and awarded patents in gene therapy.

“We are building a world with genetic agency: where patients can transform their health using genetic technologies that are safe, effective and accessible to all.”

Eric Kelsic, PhD

CEO & Cofounder

dy•no

noun

In climbing, a powerful leap to a new hold, requiring total commitment.

Our team is making bold moves to unlock the future of genetic medicine.

2015

February

Kelsic joins Church’s lab at Harvard and starts engineering AAV

2018

May

Cofounders team up on Dyno Therapeutics, Inc.

November

Closed $9 million Seed financing co-led by CRV and Polaris

2019

November

Dyno research published in Science

2020

May

Began partnership with Novartis and Sarepta

October

Began partnership with Roche

2021

May

Closed $100 million Series A financing led by a16z

December

Began partnership with Astellas

2022

January

Moved headquarters to Watertown, MA

2023

May

Launched Dyno bCap 1 for CNS delivery

October

Launched Dyno eCap 1 for eye delivery

2024

May

Began collaboration with NVIDIA

October

Roche expands CNS partnership with $50 million upfront payment

2025

January

Roche licenses first Dyno capsid for a neurological indication for $7 million

Investors

a16z
Casdin Capital Life Science Investments
CRV
Obvious
KdT Ventures
Polaris Innovation Fund
LUX
Google Ventures
Polaris Partners