Michael Holers

Michael Holers graduated from Purdue University and Washington University School of Medicine. After internal medicine training at Barnes Hospital and a rheumatology fellowship at the University of Colorado, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. After promotion there to Assistant and then Associate Professor with tenure, Michael was recruited to the University of Colorado to be the first Smyth Professor of Rheumatology. In 2000, he became Division Head of Rheumatology and is currently the Scoville Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the University of Colorado.

The Holers’ Laboratory has focused on the immunobiology of the complement system, including molecular genetics and structure-function relationships, and more recently the development of complement inhibitors in order to probe the biologic roles and therapeutic potential of complement modulation during the immune response and in tissue injury. These studies were recognized by receiving the singular American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Basic Investigator Award as well as being elected to membership in American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). Michael is Past-President of the International Complement Society.

From these studies, the Holers’ Laboratory and collaborators have developed and then commercialized several types of complement therapeutics. Before founding Q32 Bio, he co-founded Taligen Therapeutics, a company acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and has served as a consultant and Scientific Advisory Board member for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that focus on complement therapeutics and autoimmune disease pathogenesis.