Millennium Magazine_2ndEd

212 MILLENNIUM-SECOND EDITION D r. Ryszard Kole has dedicated 33 years of his career to pharmaceuticals. Dr. Kole became involved in his profession due to the influence of inspiring people in his life, from an early age to his college years, one of whom was a sixth-grade chemistry teacher who encouraged him. After graduating college in Poland, he was a postdoctoral candidate for six years at Yale University, where his mentor at the time was a professor who had received the Nobel Prize. From 1983 to 2011 he was a professor of pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his time teaching, he also served as president and scientific founder of Sarepta Therapeutics, formerly known as Ercole Biotech, and senior vice president of discovery at AVI BioPharma, Inc. Dr. Kole’s breakthrough moment came during the second half of his career. Upon finishing his postdoctoral training at Yale, he became aware of a process called mRNA splicing. He was learning more about mRNA and its functions when he discovered that a single mutation in mRNA can cause splicing, which piqued his interest. His discoveries are related to the mechanism of alternative splicing and, in particular, to the invention of oligonucleotide- induced modulation of pre-mRNA splicing as a therapeutic target. This technology is being tested at Sarepta Therapeutics in a series of clinical trials for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a debilitating muscle disorder. Dr. Kole’s oligonucleotide- splicing modulation technology is not limited to DMD or genetic disorders, but is a platform technology applicable to a variety of conditions. Dr. Kole earned a Master of Science from Warsaw University and a PhD from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He is affiliated with the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, for which he served as chair, and the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society. RYSZARD KOLE, PHD PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVE, EDUCATOR (RETIRED) Chapel Hill, NC