Erik J. Sontheimer, Ph.D., is the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research and Professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where he is also Vice Chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute. His laboratory focuses on the roles of RNA molecules in gene expression and regulation, with a current emphasis on CRISPR immune systems in bacteria and the genome editing tools derived from them. He is a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics.