An actively practicing cardiologist and a committed teacher, Kiran Musunuru holds an MD and PhD and master's degrees in law and public health. He trained at Harvard University, Cornell University Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the genetics of heart disease, seeking to identify genetic factors that protect against disease and use them to develop therapies to protect the entire population. In his recent work he has been using gene editing to create a one-shot “vaccination” against heart attacks, the leading cause of death worldwide. He is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House and the American Heart Association's Award of Meritorious Achievement. He is the author of The CRISPR Generation: The Story of the World's First Gene-Edited Babies, which is being published in October 2019.