Michelle Lin, PhD

I’m Michelle Lin, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Resurface Therapeutics, where I lead the company’s scientific strategy and platform development.

I’m a preclinical and translational biotech executive with a track record of advancing gene-edited cell therapy and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs toward IND/CTA for hematological disorders and malignancies. Previously, I was Vice President and Head of Preclinical and Translational Biology at Vor Bio, where I led non-clinical strategy for trem-cel and VCAR33 in AML, and before that I authored CTA/IND documents at CRISPR Therapeutics for CASGEVY® (exa-cel), the first CRISPR-Cas9 gene-edited therapy for sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia.

I trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Leonard Zon at HHMI, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and earned my Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Yale with William Sessa.

Experience

Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer · Resurface TherapeuticsDecember 2025 – Present

Lead company scientific strategy, platform development and research, and serve as an executive decision maker on corporate strategy, intellectual property, fundraising, vendor engagement and financial planning.

Vice President, Head of Preclinical & Translational Biology · Vor Bio2023 – July 2025

Led and scaled a 14-member team and defined non-clinical strategy for regulatory filings on Vor Bio’s lead programs, including trem-cel (CD33 CRISPR-engineered stem cell graft) with Mylotarg™ (IND 2021) and VCAR33 (CD33-directed allogeneic CAR-T; IND 2023) for AML. Directed translational strategy from Phase 1 through pivotal Phase 3 planning, and partnered with computational biology teams on single-cell genomics and biomarker discovery.

Senior Director · Vor Bio2022
Director · Vor Bio2020 – 2021
Associate Director · Vor Bio2019 – 2020
Associate Director, Hematology · CRISPR Therapeutics2019

Authored CTA/IND documents and health authority responses for CASGEVY® (exa-cel). Led the sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia discovery program from assay development and hit-finding through development candidate nomination and IND-enabling studies, and served as research lead for the CRISPR–Vertex hemoglobin disorders partnership.

Senior Scientist · CRISPR Therapeutics2016 – 2018
Scientist · CRISPR Therapeutics2015 – 2016
Postdoctoral Research Fellow · HHMI, Harvard Medical School & Boston Children’s Hospital2007 – 2015

Characterized the role of angiopoietin-like proteins and Notch signaling in zebrafish developmental hematopoiesis in the lab of Leonard I. Zon.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow · Yale University, Department of Pharmacology2005 – 2006
Research Technician / Lab Manager · Weill Cornell Medical College1997 – 2000

Honors & Memberships

David Chu Lectureship Award, University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences2025
Translational Science Committee, American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy2022 – 2024
Member, American and European Societies of Gene & Cell Therapy2022 – present
Member, American Society of Hematology2011 – present
EHA Presidential Symposium oral presentation (top 5 abstracts)2017
ASH Abstract Achievement Award; ISSCR Best Poster Award; Keystone Symposia Scholarship2013
Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, American Heart Association2011 – 2012
Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research2007 – 2010

Selected Publications

  • Uncovering Molecular and Functional Dynamics of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells during In Vitro Culture for Cell Therapy Manufacturing · Cytotherapy (2026)
  • CD33-Deleted Allogeneic HCT with Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin Maintenance in High-Risk AML · Nature Medicine (2026)
  • Phase 1/2 Study of Donor-Derived Anti-CD33 CAR T Cell Therapy (VCAR33) for Relapsed/Refractory AML after Allogeneic HCT · Blood (2026)
  • Clonal Dynamics, Tolerance, and Adverse Events After CD45-ADC–Conditioned Autologous HSPC Transplantation in Macaques · Blood Advances (2026)
  • Integrating Human Genetics and Protective Genome Editing to Enable ADGRE2-Directed AML Therapy · bioRxiv (2025)
  • A Resource and Computational Approach for Quantifying Gene Editing Allelism at Single-Cell Resolution · bioRxiv (2025)
  • Remission of TP53 Mutant AML after Transplantation with Trem-cel, a CRISPR/Cas9 Gene-Edited Allograft Lacking CD33, Followed by a Donor-Derived Anti-CD33 CAR T (VCAR33) · JCO Precision Oncology (2025)
  • Development of a Gene Edited Next-Generation Hematopoietic Cell Transplant to Enable Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment by Solving Off-Tumor Toxicity · Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development (2023)
  • CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease and β-Thalassemia: Re-Creating Genetic Variants to Upregulate Fetal Hemoglobin Appear Well-Tolerated, Effective and Durable · Blood (2017)
  • Angiopoietin-like Proteins Stimulate HSPC Development through Interaction with Notch Receptor Signaling · eLife (2015)
  • eNOS-Derived Nitric Oxide Regulates Endothelial Barrier Function through VE-Cadherin and Rho GTPases · Journal of Cell Science (2013)
  • Caveolin-1 Deficient Mice Have Increased Tumor Microvascular Permeability, Angiogenesis and Growth · Cancer Research (2007)
  • Selective Inhibition of Tumor Microvascular Permeability by Cavtratin Blocks Tumor Progression in Mice · Cancer Cell (2003)
  • Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Is an Endothelial Cell Survival Factor Required for Intramyocardial Vessel Stabilization · Development (2000)

Education

  • Ph.D. Pharmacology, Yale University · Thesis advisor: William C. Sessa
  • B.A. Biological Sciences, cum laude, Cornell University