Komor, Alexis
Genome Editing, DNA damage and repair; Functional genomics
Genome Editing, DNA damage and repair; Functional genomics
Contact Information
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Deputy Director, Sanford Stem Cell Innovation Center
Office: Urey Hall 4120D
Phone: 858-246-2608
Email: akomor@ucsd.edu
Web: komorlab.ucsd.edu
Group: View group members
Deputy Director, Sanford Stem Cell Innovation Center
Office: Urey Hall 4120D
Phone: 858-246-2608
Email: akomor@ucsd.edu
Web: komorlab.ucsd.edu
Group: View group members
Education
2014 Ph.D., Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
2009 B.S., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
2014 Ph.D., Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
2009 B.S., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
Appointments
2017-present Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego
2014-2017 Postdoctoral Scholar, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
2017-present Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego
2014-2017 Postdoctoral Scholar, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Awards and Academic Honors
2022
C&EN News Talented 12
2021
NSF CAREER Award
2021
Cottrell Scholar Award
2020
Rosalind Franklin Medal Award Winner
2020
Fortune Magazine 40 Under 40 in Healthcare Awardee
2020
Endpoints News 20 Under 40 in Biopharma
2017
International Society for Transgenic Technologies Young Investigator
Research Interests
Research in the Komor lab seeks to integrate the fields of nucleic acid chemistry, DNA damage and repair, protein engineering, directed evolution, and genome editing to develop new laboratory-based methods that facilitate the functional characterization of human genetic variants. Specifically, we engineer new precision genome editing methodologies, mechanistically study how these tools work (from both enzymatic and cellular DNA repair perspectives), and apply these tools to functionally interrogate how specific point mutations contribute to human disease. The long-term goal of my research program is to combat the variant interpretation problem that hampers progress in the field of precision medicine: there are currently over 685 million human single nucleotide variants identified through human sequencing data, and less than 1% have a defined clinical interpretation. This issue is particularly endemic to rare genetic variants and those discovered in minoritized populations and indigenous people, highlighting the need for a significant increase in studies that functionally assess human genetic variants in a more equitable manner.
Primary Research Area
Biochemistry
Biochemistry
Interdisciplinary interests
Bioorganic
Cellular Biochemistry
Cellular Biochemistry
Selected Publications
- Porto EM,Komor AC "In the business of base editors: Evolution from bench to bedside.", PLoS Biol, 2023, Vol. 21, Issue 4, e3002071 [View]
- Rallapalli KL,Komor AC "The Design and Application of DNA-Editing Enzymes as Base Editors.", Annu Rev Biochem, 2023, Vol. 92, 43-79 [View]
- Ranzau BL,Rallapalli KL,Evanoff M,Paesani F,Komor AC "The Wild-Type tRNA Adenosine Deaminase Enzyme TadA Is Capable of Sequence-Specific DNA Base Editing.", Chembiochem, 2023, Vol. 24, Issue 16, e202200788 [View]
- Vasquez CA,Evanoff M,Ranzau BL,Gu S,Deters E,Komor AC "Curing "GFP-itis" in Bacteria with Base Editors: Development of a Genome Editing Science Program Implemented with High School Biology Students.", CRISPR J, 2023, Vol. 6, Issue 3, 186-195 [View]
- Bishop AL,López Del Amo V,Okamoto EM,Bodai Z,Komor AC,Gantz VM "Double-tap gene drive uses iterative genome targeting to help overcome resistance alleles.", Nat Commun, 2022, Vol. 13, Issue 1, 2595 [View]
- Bodai Z,Bishop AL,Gantz VM,Komor AC "Targeting double-strand break indel byproducts with secondary guide RNAs improves Cas9 HDR-mediated genome editing efficiencies.", Nat Commun, 2022, Vol. 13, Issue 1, 2351 [View]
- Burnett CA,Wong AT,Vasquez CA,McHugh CA,Yeo GW,Komor AC "Examination of the Cell Cycle Dependence of Cytosine and Adenine Base Editors.", Front Genome Ed, 2022, Vol. 4, 923718 [View]
- McDaniel S,Komor A,Goren A "The use of base editing technology to characterize single nucleotide variants.", Comput Struct Biotechnol J, 2022, Vol. 20, 1670-1680 [View]
- Rallapalli KL,Ranzau BL,Ganapathy KR,Paesani F,Komor AC "Combined Theoretical, Bioinformatic, and Biochemical Analyses of RNA Editing by Adenine Base Editors.", CRISPR J, 2022, Vol. 5, Issue 2, 294-310 [View]
- Weng N,Miller M,Pham AK,Komor AC,Broide DH "Single-base editing of rs12603332 on chromosome 17q21 with a cytosine base editor regulates ORMDL3 and ATF6α expression.", Allergy, 2022, Vol. 77, Issue 4, 1139-1149 [View]
- Gu S,Bodai Z,Cowan QT,Komor AC "Base Editors: Expanding the Types of DNA Damage Products Harnessed for Genome Editing.", Gene Genome Ed, 2021, Vol. 1, [View]
- Fox K,Rallapalli KL,Komor AC "Rewriting Human History and Empowering Indigenous Communities with Genome Editing Tools.", Genes (Basel), 2020, Vol. 11, Issue 1, [View]
- Porto EM,Komor AC,Slaymaker IM,Yeo GW "Base editing: advances and therapeutic opportunities.", Nat Rev Drug Discov, 2020, Vol. 19, Issue 12, 839-859 [View]
- Rallapalli KL,Komor AC,Paesani F "Computer simulations explain mutation-induced effects on the DNA editing by adenine base editors.", Sci Adv, 2020, Vol. 6, Issue 10, eaaz2309 [View]
- Vasquez CA,Cowan QT,Komor AC "Base Editing in Human Cells to Produce Single-Nucleotide-Variant Clonal Cell Lines.", Curr Protoc Mol Biol, 2020, Vol. 133, Issue 1, e129 [View]
- Evanoff M,Komor AC "Base Editors: Modular Tools for the Introduction of Point Mutations in Living Cells.", Emerg Top Life Sci, 2019, Vol. 3, Issue 5, 483-491 [View]
- Ranzau BL,Komor AC "Genome, Epigenome, and Transcriptome Editing via Chemical Modification of Nucleobases in Living Cells.", Biochemistry, 2019, Vol. 58, Issue 5, 330-335 [View]
- Gaudelli NM,Komor AC,Rees HA,Packer MS,Badran AH,Bryson DI,Liu DR "Programmable base editing of A•T to G•C in genomic DNA without DNA cleavage.", Nature, 2017, Vol. 551, Issue 7681, 464-471 [View]
- Kim YB, Komor AC, Levy JM, Packer MS, Zhao KT, Liu DR "Increasing the genome-targeting scope and precision of base editing with engineered Cas9-cytidine deaminase fusions.", Nat Biotechnol, 2017, Vol. 35, Issue 4, 371-376 [View]
- Komor AC, Badran AH, Liu DR "CRISPR-Based Technologies for the Manipulation of Eukaryotic Genomes.", Cell, 2017, Vol. 168, Issue 1-2, 20-36 [View]
- Komor AC,Zhao KT,Packer MS,Gaudelli NM,Waterbury AL,Koblan LW,Kim YB,Badran AH,Liu DR "Improved base excision repair inhibition and bacteriophage Mu Gam protein yields C:G-to-T:A base editors with higher efficiency and product purity.", Sci Adv, 2017, Vol. 3, Issue 8, eaao4774 [View]
- Rees HA, Komor AC, Yeh WH, Caetano-Lopes J, Warman M, Edge ASB, Liu DR "Improving the DNA specificity and applicability of base editing through protein engineering and protein delivery.", Nat Commun, 2017, Vol. 8, 15790 [View]
- Komor AC, Kim YB, Packer MS, Zuris JA, Liu DR "Programmable editing of a target base in genomic DNA without double-stranded DNA cleavage.", Nature, 2016, Vol. 533, Issue 7603, 420-4 [View]