Sergei Kotenko, Ph.D

Dr. Kotenko is the Chief Operating Officer for Targeron Therapeutics and a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and a member of the Center for Immunity and Inflammation, the Center for Cell Signaling, and Cancer Institute of New Jersey at New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers. 

Education

He obtained his M.S. degree in Biophysics from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Department of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, and received his Ph.D in Molecular Biology from the Institute for Genetics of Microorganisms, Moscow, Russia.

Research

Dr. Kotenko has extensive experience in ligand:receptor interactions, signal transduction pathways and viral immunology, with a particular expertise in interferons (IFNs).  He is internationally recognized for his achievements in developing and advancing our understanding of the receptor complexes and signal transduction pathways activated by various IFNs and IL-10-related cytokines. 

Current research in Dr. Kotenko’s laboratory is mainly focused on advancing our current knowledge of IFN-λ biology, finding clinical applications for IFN-based biologics, and preclinical product development.

Awards

Dr. Kotenko is a recipient of several prestigious awards including International Cytokine Society Young Investigator Award in 1997 for the identification of the IL-10R2 chain, Milstein Young Investigator Award in 1999 from International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research for cloning of the cytomegalovirus-encoded IL-10, Milstein Award in 2010 for his seminal co-discovery and cloning of type III IFNs (IFN-λs) and their receptors, and Inventor of the Year Award from New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012 for patents related to the clinical use of IFNs.