Dr. Blanchette is an experienced scientist and leader in the field of drug discovery, with expertise across multiple drug modalities including RNA and protein therapies. Most recently, Dr. Blanchette led a large drug discovery department at Genentech, driving decision making for oligonucleotide modalities across multiple therapeutic areas. While at Genentech, Dr. Blanchette also developed and led the company’s research strategy for oligonucleotide delivery. Prior to joining Genentech in 2015, Dr. Blanchette was a staff scientist in the Biological Sciences Department at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. He holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California, Davis and a B.S. in Biology and Physics from Vassar College.

“I have spent my career as a scientist advancing novel therapeutic candidates from drug discovery to development. While at Genentech, I played a role in developing and implementing the ASO and RNAi discovery and delivery strategy and developed a deep appreciation for the power of RNAi for the treatment of disease. With its novel CASi platform, I believe Switch has the potential to deliver the full promise of RNA medicine by advancing a suite of potent, cell-selective molecules that can be efficiently self-delivered to address a wide spectrum of central nervous system and systemic indications,” said Dr. Blanchette. “I am eager to partner with my new colleagues to further optimize the company’s unique approach to RNA science and look forward to advancing our discovery-stage portfolio toward the clinic.”