Kirk Burkhart PhD

Kirk Burkhart, PhD, is a genetics researcher trained at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he completed his doctoral work in genetics with a focus on molecular and functional genomics. He has built a career in biotechnology centered on advancing RNA biology and therapeutic innovation. At Ascidian Therapeutics, he has held progressively senior scientific leadership roles, including Senior Scientist, Principal Scientist, and Associate Director. In these roles, he contributes to the development of RNA exon editing technologies aimed at correcting disease-causing genetic variants at the transcript level. His work bridges discovery science and translational development, supporting the advancement of next-generation RNA-based therapeutics.