Komor, Alexis
Genome Editing, DNA damage and repair; Functional genomics

Contact Information
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Deputy Director, Sanford Stem Cell Innovation Center

Office: Urey Hall 4120D
Phone: 858-246-2608
Email: akomor@ucsd.edu
Web: komorlab.ucsd.edu

Group: View group members
Education
2014 Ph.D., Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
2009 B.S., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
Appointments
2017-present Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego
2014-2017 Postdoctoral Scholar, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Awards and Academic Honors
2022
C&EN News Talented 12
2021
NSF CAREER Award
2021
Cottrell Scholar Award
2020
Rosalind Franklin Medal Award Winner
2020
Fortune Magazine 40 Under 40 in Healthcare Awardee
2020
Endpoints News 20 Under 40 in Biopharma
2017
International Society for Transgenic Technologies Young Investigator
Research Interests
Research in the Komor lab seeks to integrate the fields of nucleic acid chemistry, DNA damage and repair, protein engineering, directed evolution, and genome editing to develop new laboratory-based methods that facilitate the functional characterization of human genetic variants. Specifically, we engineer new precision genome editing methodologies, mechanistically study how these tools work (from both enzymatic and cellular DNA repair perspectives), and apply these tools to functionally interrogate how specific point mutations contribute to human disease. The long-term goal of my research program is to combat the variant interpretation problem that hampers progress in the field of precision medicine: there are currently over 685 million human single nucleotide variants identified through human sequencing data, and less than 1% have a defined clinical interpretation. This issue is particularly endemic to rare genetic variants and those discovered in minoritized populations and indigenous people, highlighting the need for a significant increase in studies that functionally assess human genetic variants in a more equitable manner.
Primary Research Area
Biochemistry
Interdisciplinary interests
Bioorganic
Cellular Biochemistry


Selected Publications