Erik Aznauryan: Writing Genes at Scale

Erik Aznauryan, CEO and co-founder of HarborSite, joins Galaxy Balance to explore the next frontier of genome engineering: moving beyond small edits and toward precise, large-scale DNA insertion. Erik traces his path from Armenia and medical school to Europe, the Church Lab, and eventually founding HarborSite with a mission to make gene insertion safer, more durable, and more programmable.The conversation dives into recombinases, safe harbor sites, payload size limits, delivery vehicles, in vivo validation, AI-driven protein engineering, and the therapeutic promise of inserting full genes or even entire genetic programs into the genome. Cory and Erik also discuss rare disease, cell therapy, skin and liver targeting, regulatory bottlenecks, animal models, funding shifts in biotech, and the long-term possibility of human enhancement in an age of AI.At the edge of science fiction and translational medicine, this episode asks what becomes possible when genome engineering evolves from editing biology to writing biology at scale00:00 — The North Star for genome engineering00:36 — Introduction to Erik and HarborSite01:39 — Erik’s path into science02:36 — Early fascination with cloning and genome engineering03:21 — Cory’s own early inspiration04:03 — Why genome engineering matters05:24 — Ethical questions around germline engineering06:37 — Why early-stage intervention matters07:51 — Technical progress and disease-specific editing09:25 — Why HarborSite was founded10:50 — Recombinases as the core technology12:15 — Engineering recombinases for new DNA targets13:12 — Novel genomic safe harbors14:18 — How safe harbors are selected and validated15:36 — How much target specificity can be changed?16:36 — Why lifelong expression matters17:29 — Testing durability in culture and in vivo18:26 — The appeal of the albumin locus19:15 — Endogenous production of biologics20:59 — Startup challenges and fundraising22:28 — Why LabCentral is valuable23:07 — AI BioHub and large proprietary datasets24:08 — AI’s role in model development25:11 — Practical uses of AI in biotech startups26:51 — How the team handles data analysis27:56 — What the therapeutic product looks like28:52 — First target tissues: liver and T cells30:27 — Testing off-target integration31:27 — Balancing specificity and efficiency32:24 — Lessons from CAR-T and random integration33:40 — Why recombinase systems may be safer34:39 — Payload size and delivery constraints35:35 — Delivery strategies under consideration38:09 — Simpler donor DNA formats39:38 — Platform company and therapeutic company40:59 — The key milestone: in vivo validation41:48 — HarborSite’s pre-seed raise43:05 — How VC expectations have shifted44:26 — Choosing the right in vivo model46:22 — The continued importance of mouse studies48:23 — Global regulatory differences50:10 — Science funding in the U.S.52:40 — Synthetic biology in space54:34 — Enhancement and self-directed health57:40 — Science fiction and inspiration59:34 — Advice for young scientists60:31 — Closing remarks