Kiran Musunuru

Kiran Musunuru is an American cardiologist who is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He researches the genetics and genomics of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Musunuru is a leading expert in the field of gene-editing.

Early life and education Musunuru is the son of Rao and Prameela Musunuru; he was born in New York City and grew up in Florida. His father is a renowned cardiologist who moved to the US from India in 1976.

Musunuru obtained a degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College in 1997. He also undertook postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as the Broad Institute. He discovered two novel genes involved in coronary artery disease: SORT1 and ANGPTL3.

Musunuru has pioneered the use of genome-editing tools as therapies for heart disease. For example, some people with a variant of the PCSK9 gene have lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, and therefore have a reduced risk of heart attack. Musunuru has also led research into prenatal gene editing of PCSK9 or HPD using both CRISPR-Cas9 and base editor 3 (BE3), offering a proof-of-concept for a potential new therapeutic approach for congenital genetic disorders. Musunuru cofounded Verve Therapeutics to develop gene editing techniques for treat cholesterol altering congenital genetic disorders.

In 2019, Musunuru was among a team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania to develop a stem cell-based test for the effect of genetic variants on heart muscle cells. They used the test to determine that a 65-year-old woman's specific variant of TNNT2, a gene which has been associated with cardiomyopathy, was not pathogenic. He is now a Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Musunuru is the author of The CRISPR Generation: The Story of the World's First Gene-Edited Babies, in which he delves into the scientific breakthroughs that enabled He Jiankui to create the world's first gene-edited babies, a scandal Musunuru describes as a "historic ethical fiasco, a deeply flawed experiment". The disorder is caused by a mutation in the CPS1 gene.

Awards and honours The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2013) Harvard University's Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching (2014) The American Heart Association's Award for Meritorious Achievement (2016) Elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2017)