# Marc Tessier-Lavigne

> Marc Tessier-Lavigne is a Canadian-American neuroscientist and biotechnology executive who discovered key chemical guidance cues for developing neurons, led research at Genentech, served as president of Rockefeller University and Stanford University, and now leads AI drug discovery company Xaira Therapeutics as co-founder, chairman and CEO.

- **Role:** Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Xaira Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Xaira Therapeutics, Stanford University, The Rockefeller University, Genentech, University of California, San Francisco, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Denali Therapeutics, Renovis
- **From:** Trenton, Canada
- **Nationality:** Canadian-American
- **Education:** BSc, Physics, McGill University, BA, Philosophy and Physiology (Rhodes Scholar), University of Oxford, PhD, Physiology, University College London
- **Known for:** Co-discovered netrins, molecular guidance cues involved in neural development., Received the 2020 Gruber Neuroscience Prize., Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine.

## Career timeline

- **1959** — Born in Trenton, Ontario, Canada.
- **1980** — Graduated from McGill University in physics and went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
- **1987** — Earned a doctorate in physiology at University College London.
- **1991** — Joined the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco.
- **1994** — With colleagues, reported discovery of netrins, chemical guidance cues for growing neurons.
- **2001** — Joined Stanford University faculty.
- **2003** — Moved to Genentech, eventually becoming executive vice president for research and chief scientific officer.
- **2011** — Became president of The Rockefeller University.
- **2016** — Became the 11th president of Stanford University.
- **2023** — Resigned as Stanford president after an independent review found serious flaws in some papers and insufficient correction steps; it did not find evidence he personally committed research misconduct.
- **2024** — Became co-founder, chairman and CEO of Xaira Therapeutics.
- **2026** — Xaira launched X-Cell, its first virtual-cell model, trained on its X-Atlas/Pisces perturbation dataset.

## Achievements

- Co-discovered netrins, molecular guidance cues involved in neural development.
- Received the 2020 Gruber Neuroscience Prize.
- Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine.
- Named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020.
- Led research at Genentech and served as president of both Rockefeller University and Stanford University.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Xaira reported that it won a 2026 Fierce AI Innovation Award for preclinical development.
- **2026-07** — Xaira announced leadership appointments and promotions, including Bo Wang as chief AI scientist and Ci Chu as chief discovery officer.
- **2026-03** — Xaira introduced X-Cell, a virtual-cell model trained on the X-Atlas/Pisces genome-wide perturbation dataset.
- **2026-01** — A Goldman Sachs interview with Tessier-Lavigne on AI drug discovery was published.

## Links

- Website: https://www.xaira.net/team/marc-tessier-lavigne
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-tessier-lavigne

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marc-tessier-lavigne
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29