Steven Smock

After earning a BS (Biology/Chemistry) at the University of Pittsburgh, a MS (Cell & Molecular Biology) at Southern Illinois University, and a MS (Biochemistry) at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and subsequently spending ~30 years pursuing research in big pharma (Pfizer/Merck) and another 5 in the CRO space (Curia/Charles River Labs) functioning both at the bench and as a project lead/manager working in the fields of musculoskeletal frailty, immuno-oncology, and nucleic acid based therapies, Steve returned to his academic roots to study and pursue what he sees as a major unmet medical need in patient treatment, the correcting of genetic issues at the source - the genome.  He serves as a Senior Research Scientist/Lab Manager/Synthetic Oligonucleotide Chemist in the productive and growing Watts lab. Outside the lab, Steve is married to his kindergarten teacher wife (Tara) and father to 2 teenage girls (Emily & Lily).  As if that wasn’t enough, he also has 2 active & mischievous large dogs (Mabel & Stanley).  When he has free time, Steve likes to camp, hike, kayak, and pretty much anything out of doors.