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 scale
00:00 — The North Star for genome engineering
00:36 — Introduction to Erik and HarborSite
01:39 — Erik’s path into science
02:36 — Early fascination with cloning and genome engineering
03:21 — Cory’s own early inspiration
04:03 — Why genome engineering matters
05:24 — Ethical questions around germline engineering
06:37 — Why early-stage intervention matters
07:51 — Technical progress and disease-specific editing
09:25 — Why HarborSite was founded
10:50 — Recombinases as the core technology
12:15 — Engineering recombinases for new DNA targets
13:12 — Novel genomic safe harbors
14:18 — How safe harbors are selected and validated
15:36 — How much target specificity can be changed?
16:36 — Why lifelong expression matters
17:29 — Testing durability in culture and in vivo
18:26 — The appeal of the albumin locus
19:15 — Endogenous production of biologics
20:59 — Startup challenges and fundraising
22:28 — Why LabCentral is valuable
23:07 — AI BioHub and large proprietary datasets
24:08 — AI’s role in model development
25:11 — Practical uses of AI in biotech startups
26:51 — How the team handles data analysis
27:56 — What the therapeutic product looks like
28:52 — First target tissues: liver and T cells
30:27 — Testing off-target integration
31:27 — Balancing specificity and efficiency
32:24 — Lessons from CAR-T and random integration
33:40 — Why recombinase systems may be safer
34:39 — Payload size and delivery constraints
35:35 — Delivery strategies under consideration
38:09 — Simpler donor DNA formats
39:38 — Platform company and therapeutic company
40:59 — The key milestone: in vivo validation
41:48 — HarborSite’s pre-seed raise
43:05 — How VC expectations have shifted
44:26 — Choosing the right in vivo model
46:22 — The continued importance of mouse studies
48:23 — Global regulatory differences
50:10 — Science funding in the U.S.
52:40 — Synthetic biology in space
54:34 — Enhancement and self-directed health
57:40 — Science fiction and inspiration
59:34 — Advice for young scientists
60:31 — Closing remarks
