Charles Murry

Charles E. Murry is a professor at the University of Washington and founder of BEAT BioTherapeutics. Murry is the Professor of Pathology, Bioengineering, and Medicine/Cardiology at UW, as well as the Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Biology. He has worked at the University of Washington since 1989.

Murry leads research at the University of Washington through the Murry Lab. The lab works to understand cardiovascular disease and is intensely focused on stem cell research and tissue engineering.

Murry, a North Dakota native, attended Bismarck Junior College and the University of North Dakota for his undergraduate studies. He earned both his MD and PhD from Duke University in 1989 and 1988, respectively. Murry moved to Seattle in 1989 to take up residency training in Anatomical Pathology at the University of Washington and went on to receive clinical training in diagnostic cardiovascular pathology in 1991.

Beat BioTherapeutics was born out of research at Murry's lab at the University of Washington. The company's therapeutic strategy comes from Murry's discovery that a small increase in a naturally occurring enzyme can increase the pumping power of heart muscles and improve cardiac performance. In 2013, the company obtained $2.5 million in seed financing to develop its gene therapy treatment for heart failure.