Kevin Donahue
CEO and Co-Founder
Entrepreneur, technologist and inventor, with more than 20 years in business development and 15 in hardware and manufacturing. Father of two sons with DM1. BS, WPI; MS, Harvard University.
Our company
A family’s question. A scientific purpose.
3X Genetics was founded to advance the understanding of repeat expansion diseases. Our team brings together genetics, laboratory science and engineering.
Why we began
Founded by a family affected by DM1.
3X Genetics began with a family’s seven-year search for a definitive diagnosis of the muscular and gastrointestinal symptoms of two of their children.
Kevin Donahue, an engineer and serial entrepreneur, and Steven Oldenburg co-founded 3X Genetics in 2021 to develop tests for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1). Five years later, the company measures repeat expansions one DNA molecule at a time. The method has been demonstrated at the DM1 and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) genes in blood and saliva, and assays for both conditions are in analytical validation.
The people behind the work
Our leadership
Steven Oldenburg, PhD
Co-Founder and Chief Scientist
Founded nanoComposix and built it profitably until its acquisition by Fortis Life Sciences. Laboratory development and operations; $25 million raised in non-dilutive funding. BS, University of British Columbia; PhD, Rice University.
Hari Nair, PhD, D(ABCC), FADLM
CLIA Laboratory Director
Board-certified clinical chemist and CLIA laboratory director since 2014, including six years as technical and laboratory director at Boston Heart Diagnostics. Develops and validates laboratory-developed tests on mass spectrometry, chromatography, NMR and immunoassay platforms, and edited Mass Spectrometry for the Clinical Laboratory (Elsevier). PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University; clinical chemistry fellowship, University of Washington.
Science and laboratory team
The computational biology and engineering team covers assay design and analysis, enrichment algorithms, and engineering and IT. A dedicated technical staff runs the CLIA laboratory. The laboratory and offices are at 218 Willard Street, Leominster, Massachusetts.
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