Bioengineering professor Pablo Perez-Pinera has received the 2025 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research from The Grainger College of Engineering, recognizing his outstanding contributions to genetic medicine. Since joining the department in 2014, Perez-Pinera has led innovative research into gene-editing therapies for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s, using cutting-edge tools such as CRISPR and base editors. His lab’s recent breakthroughs in correcting genetic errors directly in living mice, featured in Nature Communications, highlight the life-changing potential of his work. With over $10 million in research support to date, Perez-Pinera continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in treating neurogenetic disorders.
Written by Ben Libman
Professor PabloPerez-Pinera
Professor Perez-Pinera is the recipient of the 2025 Dean's Award for Excellence in Research from The Grainger College of Engineering. This honor recognizes faculty members for outstanding research based on years of accomplishments, highlighting their contributions to advancing scientific knowledge and innovation.
Professor Perez-Pinera joined the Department of Bioengineering at Illinois Grainger Engineering in 2014. His laboratory has been developing novel therapies for several neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. To accomplish this goal he uses technologies that precisely modify the DNA of living cells, such as CRISPR-Cas systems, which his laboratory optimizes to function in vitro and vivo using various mouse models.
One fundamental aspect of his research is the use of base editors. Base editors are a sophisticated gene editing modality that enables the correction of specific genetic mutations, as well as the introduction of genetic modifications to silence gene expression or modulate exon skipping. His recent work has demonstrated how base editors can correct specific genetic errors and be directly delivered to mice for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. This method was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Throughout his career, professor Perez-Pinera's research has received awards totaling over $10 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Simons Foundation, CHDI, and other organizations. These grants have been instrumental in supporting his work in genetic medicine, bringing cures to individuals affected by severe neurological disorders.