On Mar. 5, 2014, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) announced the creation of the Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy, led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D., a world-renowned leader in embryonic stem cell and gene therapy research.

Mitalipov and his team succeeded in preventing transmission of genetic defects in mitochondrial DNA in the cells of monkeys, in 2009, and in human cells in 2012. In 2017, a ground breaking discovery by Mitalipov was reported in Nature – the successful removal of a lethal genetic defect in human embryos. The breakthrough is the initial confirmation that a dangerous genetic defect can in theory be erased.