Richard Young

Rick Young is a pioneer in the systems biology of gene control and expression and has harnessed the emergent understanding of biomolecular condensates and phase separation for new insights in his field. He is a member of the Whitehead Institute and a Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Young’s research focuses on the regulatory circuitry that controls the gene expressions programs in each cell. Experimental and computational technologies are used to determine how signaling pathways, transcription factors, chromatin regulators, and small RNAs control gene expression programs in embryonic stem cells. He co-founded Syros Pharmaceuticals and CAMP4 Therapeutics.

Dr. Young has served as an advisor to Science magazine and the World Health Organization. In 2006, Dr. Young was recognized as one of the top 50 leaders in science, technology, and business by Scientific American. His awards include a Burroughs Wellcome Scholarships, the Chiron Corporation Biotechnology Research Awards, and Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal. Dr. Young received his Ph.D. from Yale University.