Addgene Co-Founder Melina Fan, PhD, Transitions to Chief Scientific Advisor After Two Decades of Leadership

Fan will focus on science and strategy as Addgene’s next chapter continues to build on the open-science community she helped create

Watertown, MA - Addgene, a purpose-driven organization that partners with scientists around the world to reduce barriers to research and foster innovation, today announced that co-founder Melina Fan, PhD, is transitioning from her role leading the organization’s day-to-day operations to a new part-time position as Chief Scientific Advisor. In her new role, Fan will advise Addgene’s leadership team on science and strategy, drawing on the perspective she has built over more than 20 years since co-founding the organization.

The move reflects the strength of Addgene’s current leadership rather than a departure from the organization. Addgene’s science and research operations will continue to be led day-to-day by the organization’s existing leadership team, and Fan will remain closely connected to select projects and long-standing partners even as she steps back from daily management.

Fan first encountered the problem Addgene was built to solve as a graduate student in Bruce Spiegelman’s lab at Harvard, where the difficulty of obtaining plasmids from other labs led her to shelve a secured postdoctoral position and, shortly after completing her PhD, co-found Addgene with her husband, computer scientist Benjie Chen, and her brother, Kenneth Fan.

“For more than two decades, Melina never faltered in keeping the scientist at the heart of every decision — not as a value written on a wall, but as a daily practice, visible in everything Addgene does and every standard we hold ourselves to. That is her legacy, and it belongs to every Addgenie who has carried it forward,” said Chonnettia Jones, PhD, President and Executive Director of Addgene.

“Addgene was founded because of a problem I had at the bench, and after 20 years, I feel incredibly grateful to have been part of building this community,” said Fan. “Addgene is in a strong position today, with strong leadership in place, and I think it’s the right time for fresh perspectives, especially on the science side where the field is moving quickly. I’m looking forward to staying close to the science, and I’d love to keep hearing directly from researchers about the problems they’re still facing in sharing plasmids, viral vectors, antibodies, or anything else — that’s exactly the kind of feedback that shaped Addgene in the first place.”

As Chief Scientific Advisor, Fan will advise on key scientific and strategic projects in a part-time capacity. She has said she plans to take her time deciding what comes next professionally, with an eye toward work that is mission-driven and that remains closely tied to the life sciences community she has served for two decades.

“Everybody knows the impact that Melina has had on Addgene, and I just want to thank her and wish her well in this next chapter,” said Luk Vandenberghe, PhD, Board Chair of Addgene. “I also wish her a chance to catch her breath and take a well-deserved pause. Know that we’re here for you, and we hope you’ll continue to be here for Addgene as well in the years ahead.”

Addgene’s leadership said the organization remains focused on continuing to lower the barriers scientists face in sharing research materials, and on identifying new ways — across plasmids, viral vectors, antibodies, and beyond — to support the life sciences community Fan set out to help two decades ago.