Dima Kuzmin
Dima holds an MSc in Biochemistry and Medical Biochemistry from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, a Ph.D. in neurochemistry from the Russian Academy of Sciences and MPIH Frankfurt, and an MSc in Experimental Therapeutics (with Distinction) from the University of Oxford. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship in clinical and experimental neuroscience at the University College London.
During his doctorate, Dima contributed to co-founding the field of chemogenetics (controlling cells in the body with gene therapies activated by small molecule drugs). His work has been published in several leading journals and is a part of several gene therapies advancing towards clinical trials. During his postdoctoral fellowship at UCL, Dima also contributed to the understanding of how information gets processed in the brain, the role of oscillations in transmission and encoding of information, and the construction of novel brain-computer interfaces. His current research interests center around clinical trial design, ethics, and access to one-time curative therapies.
Dima co-founded, funded, and led Future Biotech, a non-profit education initiative that nurtures future biotechnology entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe.
Outside of work, Dima is an avid sailor, skier, and fencer, and enjoys mountain hiking and jazz.
Dima is the founding and managing partner of 4BIO Capital, a London-based investment firm focused exclusively on advanced and emerging therapies. At 4BIO, he leads the team of scientists, physicians, and former operators responsible for sourcing, evaluation, and post-investment management of both private and public investments. He is responsible for shaping and maintaining the proprietary technology strategy of the firm, the in-house research efforts, and academic collaborations.
Prior to founding 4BIO, Dima spent many years in academia, focusing successively on structural biology, neurochemistry, systems neuroscience, brain-computer interfaces, and gene therapy. He contributed to the foundation of the field of chemogenetics (control of excitable cells using a combination of gene therapy and small molecules).
Dima led many of 4BIO’s investments, including those into Orchard Therapeutics (IPO on NASDAQ), ADC Therapeutics (IPO on NYSE), RetroSense Therapeutics (acquired by Allergan), and Redpin Therapeutics (acquired by Kriya). He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board at Araris Biotech AG, Trogenix, and Hornet Therapeutics, and as a Non-Executive Director at Ray Therapeutics and Code Bio.
Apart from 4BIO, he serves as an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adjunct) at the Yale University. Dima is a Kauffman Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.
As a member of Class 26, Dima is serving his fellowship at 4BIO under the mentorship of Brian McVeigh.