Victor Hernandez

Victor Hernandez joined Professor Phil Beales's team at the Institute of Child Health (ICH), University College London (UCL), in 2008, to investigate the genes involved in a new group of genetic disorders now known as ciliopathies. Participating in patients' meetings, such as the Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) Society, was an eye-opener; interacting directly with patients and families, and listening to the daily issues they face, made him determined to focus on research that can quickly be translated into real treatments. While at ICH, he helped discover new ideas on the biology of ciliary genes, which have become instrumental tools for understanding the biological progression of the disease and supporting the development of therapeutic solutions.

This research led him to launch Axovia Therapeutics, a company dedicated to developing disease-transformative therapies that target key aspects of ciliopathies. As Chief Scientific Officer, he brings his knowledge of therapy development and experience managing research translational teams to oversee all aspects of preclinical and toxicological research and development for Axovia's therapies, with the goal of supporting CTA and IND submissions to start first-in-human clinical trials.

He is also a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Biomedical Sciences at Brunel University London, where he teaches high-quality translational biomedicine and leads research into new therapeutic solutions.