Meet Anastasia Khvorova, PhD

Dr. Anastasia Khvorova is a leading authority in oligonucleotide therapeutics, with over 20 years of experience advancing RNA-based drug development. A professor at the RNA Therapeutics Institute and Program in Molecular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School since 2012, she brings together expertise in organic chemistry, RNA biology, and pharmacology to explore novel strategies for therapeutic RNA delivery and trafficking.

Dr. Khvorova began her scientific training in Moscow, earning her PhD in 1994, and moved to the United States the following year. She spent over a decade in industry, holding executive roles and co-founding several RNA-focused biotechnology companies. At UMass, she founded the RTI Nucleic Acid Chemistry Center—the only nonprofit facility in North America equipped to synthesize complex RNAs at the scale required for in vitro and in vivo research.

A prolific innovator, Dr. Khvorova holds more than 175 patents and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including highly cited foundational papers in Cell, Nature, and Nature Biotechnology that have shaped the field of RNAi drug design. She is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and has served in leadership roles with both the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society.

Her expertise in RNA chemistry, delivery technologies, and translational strategy provides ADViRNA with a critical edge in developing next-generation RNAi therapeutics.