Linda Burkly Biography and Net Worth

Linda is Chief Scientific Officer of Editas Medicine. She joined Editas Medicine in July 2023 and is responsible for leading the drug discovery team and activities related to Editas Medicine’s pipeline of experimental medicines across all therapeutic areas and indications.

Linda brings to Editas more than 35 years of experience in biotechnology as a research leader spanning the breadth of the drug discovery and development value chain in therapeutic areas of immunological, neurological, and rare genetic disorders. Linda also has a track record of contributing to the foundations of approved medicines and late-stage clinical candidates, including Trogarzo®, Tysabri®, and Dapirolizumab (currently in Phase 3 development), her role ranging across inventing therapeutic compositions, discovering novel pathway biology and uses of therapeutic compositions, co-authoring INDs, and leading project teams.

Prior to joining Editas, Linda held positions of increasing responsibility over a 37-year tenure at Biogen. She most recently served as Vice President and Senior Distinguished Investigator from 2014 to 2022. In this role, she led neuroscience-focused research teams in target identification to advancement, leveraging genetic and small molecule modalities to discover and develop differentiated medicines for genetic and neurodevelopmental disorders. Linda also developed disease area strategy and advanced programs in neuroinflammation as Head of Acute Neurology Research.

Earlier in her career, Linda led teams to discover and develop drugs for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases as Vice President and Senior Distinguished Investigator in Immunology. During this time, Linda invented a novel anti-CD4 mAb that was developed into Trogarzo®, discovered novel VLA-4/VCAM biology and uses of VLA-4 blockers including for Crohn’s disease, an indication of Tysabri®, and was Biogen lead on a partnered collaboration with UCB and therein an inventor of Dapirolizumab. Linda also devised an AAV Vector Immunogenicity and Toxicity Mitigation project, leading contributors across five functions to deliver solutions to mitigate toxicity and enable gene therapy development.

As a scientific innovator, Linda is an inventor on 17 issued U.S. patents. She is also a recognized scholar, featured in the Elsevier and Stanford University list of the top 2% of the most cited scientists worldwide cumulatively until August 2021, with 168 publications, including 144 peer-reviewed original papers.

Linda holds a Ph.D. from Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, and a B.S. from Fairfield University. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Richard A. Flavell, Biogen Research Corp.