Raising Health

Dark Genome Hunting with Rosana Kapeller and Marty Taylor

Vineeta Agarwala, Bryan Faust, Rosana Kapeller, Kris Tatiossian, Marty Taylor, and Olivia Webb

Posted March 12, 2024

Rosana Kapeller, CEO of Rome Therapeutics, and Marty Taylor, physician-scientist at Harvard Medical School, join Vineeta Agarwala, general partner, and Bryan Faust, investment partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they discuss Rosana and Marty’s recent publication regarding a virus-like element in our genome known as LINE-1. LINE-1, part of our “dark genome,” was ignored as junk DNA for years, but is increasingly recognized to contribute to the pathology of autoimmunity, cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging. Rosana and Marty discuss how the discovery was made as well as how Rome Therapeutics is developing a platform to target LINE-1 and other factors that are part of the “dark genome” for the treatment of disease.

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Biology and the state of healthcare are undergoing radical shifts.
Raising Health delves into dialogues with scientists, technologists, founders, builders, leaders, and visionaries as they explore how AI, engineering, and technology elevate health to new heights and create a system of enduring health for all.

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