Jerry is a Distinguished Professor at Stanford and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, recognized for his groundbreaking work in developmental biology and gene regulation. He is known for defining the signaling pathways and transcriptional circuitry used by T cells to initiate immune responses, as well as the mechanisms underlying immunosuppressant therapies.
His lab also discovered that the mammalian brain harbors its own specialized epigenetic mechanisms based on the neuron-specific nBAF chromatin complex, and linked dysfunction of this complex to neurological disorders such as autism and intellectual disability.
Jerry’s research has further pioneered the development of synthetic ligands, or Chemical Inducers of Proximity (CIPs), to probe biological regulation and lay the foundation for new therapeutics. In recent years, his lab has used these principles to create a new approach to cancer treatment in which the very genes that drive malignancy are rewired to kill cancer cells—an approach that holds promise for highly effective and selective cancer therapies.
In addition to his academic work, Jerry has founded several biotechnology companies, including Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Foghorn Therapeutics, and Shenandoah Therapeutics (named after the beloved river near his childhood home). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and has received numerous honors, including the NIH Director’s Award.
Jerry’s career has had a lasting impact on both fundamental biological discovery and the development of new medical therapies.
