Adrian Robert Krainer is a Uruguayan-American biochemist and molecular geneticist known for his research into RNA gene-splicing. He helped create a drug for patients with spinal muscular atrophy. Krainer holds the St. Giles Foundation Professorship at

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, botany, genomics, and quantitative biology. It is located in Laurel Hollow, New York, in Nassau County, on ...

Laurel Hollow, New York Laurel Hollow is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (s ...

Early life and education

Krainer was born in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay to a Jewish family of Hungarian and

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

descent. He has one older brother, who is a

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

. His father did forced labor for two years in a Romanian labor camp (Ferma Alba) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, his father's original surname, Kreiner changed to Krainer due to a clerical error when he was a refugee in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. His parents owned a small leather business in Montevideo. Krainer attended a private bilingual French-Spanish elementary school. He later attended a public school for two years before completing his pre-college education with four years at a private Spanish-Hebrew school. Krainer lived through political unrest during his teenage years, including urban guerrilla and military dictatorship. Krainer received a full scholarship from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and completed a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

in 1981. He graduated ''cum laude'' and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. In 1986, he earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in biochemistry from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career and research

From 1986 to 1989, Krainer conducted

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

as the first Cold Spring Harbor Fellow at the

. Krainer worked as an assistant professor from 1989 to 1990, Associate Professor from 1990 to 1994, and Professor since 1994. Krainer is a faculty member of the graduate programs in Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at State University of New York, Stony Brook. Krainer holds the St. Giles Foundation Professorship at

. His former students include Ewan Birney. Krainer is a co-founder and Director of Stoke Therapeutics, based in Bedford, MA.

Awards and honors

In 2019 he was awarded a

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences is a scientific award, funded by internet entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan of Facebook; Sergey Brin of Google; entrepreneur and venture capitalist Yuri Milner; and Anne Wojcicki, one of t ...

for his contributions to the understanding of the RNA gene-splicing process and, in collaboration with fellow Prize Laureate Dr. Frank Bennet of

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Carlsbad, California, that specializes in discovering and developing RNA-targeted therapeutics. The company has three commercially approved medicines: Spinraza ( Nusinersen), Tegse ...

, the development of medical interventions that target the RNA-splicing process, including Spinraza, which is the first treatment for the genetic disorder Spinal Muscular Atrophy. In 2021 Krainer received the

Wolf Prize in Medicine The Wolf Prize in Medicine is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Arts. The ...

. In 2024 he was awarded the

Albany Medical Center Prize The Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research is the United States' second highest value prize in medicine and biomedical research, awarded by the Albany Medical Center. Among prizes for medicine worldwide, the Albany Medical ...

jointly with Howard Y. Chang and Lynne E. Maquat. Other honors include: * Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences (1992–96); * National Institute of General Medical Sciences MERIT Award (2012-2022); * New York Intellectual Property Law Association Inventor of the Year Award (2017); * FE Bennett Award of the American Neurological Association (2017); * RNA Society Lifetime Achievement Award (2019); * Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine (2020); * Gregor Johann Mendel Medal for Outstanding Achievements in Science (2020), Brno, Czech Republic; * Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other F ...

(2016); * Fellow of the

National Academy of Inventors The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 201 ...

(2018); * Member of the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

(2019); * Member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(2020)

Personal life

Krainer's father and maternal grandparents were Holocaust refugees. He has three children, Emily, Andrew, and Brian. His wife, Kate Krainer, is a plant geneticist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krainer, Adrian R. Living people 1958 births Columbia College (New York) alumni Harvard University alumni Stony Brook University faculty Uruguayan Jews Uruguayan emigrants to the United States Uruguayan people of Romanian-Jewish descent Uruguayan people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Uruguayan neuroscientists 20th-century Uruguayan educators 21st-century Uruguayan educators American people of Uruguayan-Jewish descent Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

External links

Adrian Krainer in Hyde Park Civilization on ČT24 11.9.2021 (moderator Daniel Stach)