Gene W. Yeo, PhD, MBA, is an academic and biotechnology board member, scientific founder, and internationally recognized leader in RNA biology and RNA-based therapeutics. He currently serves as Chief Scientist of Sanford Laboratories for Innovative Medicines and is the founding Director of the Center for RNA Technologies and Therapeutics at the University of California San Diego, where he also holds the Sanford Stem Cell Institute Endowed Chair.

Dr. Yeo has over two decades of experience spanning RNA biology, computational genomics, and translational medicine, with deep expertise in RNA therapeutic modalities including antisense oligonucleotides, siRNA, mRNA, circular RNA, and RNA-targeting CRISPR technologies. His work has helped establish RNA-binding proteins as druggable targets across neurodegeneration, oncology, and rare disease, and he has pioneered widely adopted experimental and computational platforms for RNA target discovery and validation.

An active entrepreneur, Dr. Yeo is a co-founder of multiple biotechnology companies including Proteona (acquired by Singleron), Locanabio, Eclipse Bioinnovations, Trotana, and Orbital Therapeutics, the latter of which was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. He currently serves on the boards of directors and scientific advisory boards of numerous life science and RNA-focused companies, and regularly advises venture capital firms on scientific strategy, diligence, and portfolio development.

Dr. Yeo has authored approximately 300 peer-reviewed publications and is among the world’s most highly cited researchers across molecular biology and genomics. His contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including designation as a Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator, the RNA Society’s Elisa Izaurralde Award, the Academia Europaea Sydney Brenner Medal, and repeated selection as a Highly Cited Researcher.

Dr. Yeo received his PhD in Computational Neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from the UC San Diego Rady School of Management, and dual bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Engineering and Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He brings to organizations a rare combination of deep mechanistic insight, translational rigor, and strategic perspective at the intersection of science, medicine, and venture creation.