Erik Aznauryan is a current PhD Candidate at Systems and Synthetic Immunology lab at ETH Zurich. His research interests revolve around synthetic biology, therapeutic genome editing and the application of these technologies to the discovery of new treatments for congenital and oncological diseases. Erik’s academic and non-academic experience includes a bachelor’s degree from Newcastle University followed by a master’s at Columbia University and a research assistantship at California Institute of Technology. He also participated in a summer fellowship program at Flagship Pioneering. Erik is a recipient of numerous Armenian and non-Armenian scholarships and has organized various scientific and cultural events for the Armenian diaspora and beyond. Through his volunteering activities, Erik actively contributes to the development of biotechnology education in Armenia by organizing lectures and workshops at TUMO and Yerevan State University and by collaborating with Yerevan’s Institute of Molecular Biology.