Rob W.J. Collin, PhD
Rob Collin is a molecular geneticist whose research group at Radboudumc focuses on developing and implementing novel molecular therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). Where much of the field works to identify the genetic causes of blindness, Collin's group concentrates on the next step: correcting them. His central focus is the modulation of pre-mRNA splicing — designing antisense oligonucleotide and gene-augmentation strategies to repair the consequences of disease-causing variants in selected forms of IRD.
Trained in chemistry and originally a doctoral researcher in the protein biology of Alzheimer's disease, Collin joined Radboudumc in 2006 and was part of the team that discovered several genes underlying hereditary hearing loss and inherited blindness. After a period developing gene therapy in the United States, he shifted his own program toward molecular therapeutics in 2010, and was appointed Full Professor at Radboudumc and Radboud University in 2021. His group's earlier work — restoring a specific RNA splicing defect that causes a common form of congenital blindness — has since advanced into patient testing, and his research employs a range of cellular models (patient fibroblasts and iPSC-derived retinal cells and organoids) alongside zebrafish and mouse systems.
Collin coordinates international consortia developing genetic therapies for IRDs and has helped translate laboratory discoveries toward the clinic. He is the founder of Astherna B.V., a Radboudumc spin-out company developing RNA-based therapies — particularly antisense oligonucleotide splice-modulation treatments — to fight inherited forms of blindness. Astherna has licensed intellectual property from Radboudumc on which Collin is an inventor, carrying his laboratory's splice-correction work toward therapeutic development. That bridge between fundamental discovery and treatable targets makes him a valued therapeutic-development collaborator of CURE46.
