Larry Jia, PhD, MD

Chairman, STORI

Dr. Larry Jia is a physician-scientist with more than three decades of experience in virology, genetics, and diagnostic innovation. He completed postdoctoral training in virology at the University of Utah in 1992 and subsequently joined the faculty at the University of California, Irvine, serving in the Departments of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Neurology, and Medicine. Dr. Jia received his medical degree in 1982 and a Master’s degree in Microbiology from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences prior to relocating to the United States. Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Department of Hepatitis Viruses at the Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science before transitioning to U.S.-based academic and biotechnology work. His research has contributed directly to public health infrastructure, including the identification of West Nile virus in North America in 1999 - work that influenced diagnostic development and disease surveillance systems. In 1994, he founded Zymo Research in California. Under his leadership, the company became internationally recognized for advancements in nucleic acid technologies, DNA preservation systems, next-generation sequencing platforms, genome-wide methylation and hydroxymethylation analysis (5mC/5hmC), transcriptome analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), nucleosome positioning, and microbiome research. Zymo’s technologies are widely used across academic institutions, biotechnology companies, and clinical laboratories worldwide. Across his companies, Dr. Jia has built a substantial intellectual property portfolio in the United States and internationally, with research programs spanning genetic and epigenetic diagnostics.