Krassen Dimitrov, Ph.D
Founder, NanoString Technologies

Krassen Dimitrov has come a long way since his birth in communist Bulgaria in 1968. Today, Dimitrov is the founder, CEO and chief technology officer of NanoString Technologies, a Seattle biotechnology start-up company that has developed a new way to tag and analyze genes. NanoString Technologies is the latest spinoff from Seattle's Institute for Systems Biology. The company, which recently won the grand prize in the University of Washington Business School's Business Plan Competition, is poised to simplify the way scientists identify and count the number of genes in a biological sample.

When Dimitrov looks back at growing up in Sofia, Bulgaria, he says it's no wonder he became a scientist. "Next to soccer, science was the most exciting thing a kid like me could get involved in," explained Dimitrov. "The state-controlled television was excruciatingly boring and the pictures were all black and white. Movie theaters showed mostly weepy Russian dramas. There were no Hollywood movies, no video games, and no other distractions for young minds."

In high school, Dimitrov joined a biotechnology extracurricular group. He had the great luck of being taught biology by a remarkable teacher who held a Ph.D and used to be an active researcher. "She really lit a fire in me for research," recalled Dimitrov. In addition to biotechnology, Dimitrov also found himself drawn to chemistry.

After high school, in the fall of 1986, Dimitrov entered the University of Sophia to study biotechnology. Professors from three universities, who specialized in subjects ranging from mechanics to zoology, helped teach the multidisciplinary biotech program. "It was intense because I had to learn so many different things, while at the same time trying to enjoy fully the benefits of college life," said Dimitrov. While attending university, the young scientist started an extracurricular project on Aspartame synthesis, which ultimately developed into his thesis for a Masters of Science degree.

After graduating from university in 1991, Dimitrov spent a year at Bulgaria's Institute for Genetic Engineering. "That year was a tumultuous time for Bulgaria. Funding was being cut in many areas. One day we awoke to the news that the Institute was closed by the government. The decision was later reversed but times were tough for scientists in the country," recalled Dimitrov. During this time he spent many hours studying for graduate school exams and trying to gain acceptance to a Ph.D program in the United States. Dimitrov's efforts paid off. He was ultimately invited to join several prominent American universities and took an offer from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. In July 1992, just a few months after getting married, Dimitrov and his new wife, Preslava, flew to Houston to begin the next step in his scientific studies and their transformation from Bulgarians to Texans.

Dimitrov thrived at Baylor's school for biosciences and appreciated the quality of the department and the professors. He focused his doctoral thesis on yeast genetics. One thing that excited Dimitrov about Baylor was the number of great scientists who came to present their work, including one man who ended up having a great influence on Dimitrov's career. "One day Lee Hood, (William Gates Chair of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Washington), gave a remarkable lecture. Right there I knew that this was the person I would love to do my postdoctoral work with."

Dimitrov immediately wrote a letter to Hood, a worldwide leader in molecular biotechnology and genomics. "Most people told me that Lee Hood probably gets a hundred letters a day, so I should not get my hopes up too high. I was ecstatic when the phone in my lab rang one day and it was Lee himself, asking me to come for an interview." Dimitrov was invited to stay at Hood's house during his visit to Seattle and was impressed with the scenery. "I could see Mt. Rainier from his house, Lake Washington, and some people were commuting to work… in kayaks!" Dimitrov was so impressed with Seattle and with the University of Washington that he turned down another offer from Stanford University. "I figured that my long-term job prospects would be just fine if I did well in Lee Hood's lab," explained Dimitrov.

After the decision was made, Dimitrov and his wife found themselves packing up and moving from the Southwest to the Northwest. During his time at the University of Washington, Dimitrov spent one year working on microarray technology with Lee Hood and Roger Baumgarner. "I perfected the technology so well that when Hood founded the non-profit Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), I was one of the first people he offered a job to."

At the ISB, Dimitrov managed the microarray laboratory. The lab started operating in early 2000 and soon became one of the most prominent labs in the country. Dimitrov fielded dozens of invitations to give lectures on microarrays, the chips used to view and analyze DNA. Yet, Dimitrov knew that the technology could be improved. "Microarray technology was new and very exciting, so everyone was interested in it. But I could see there were some problems. Microarrays required large quantities of sample materials. And the technology was only semi-accurate and was quite expensive and labor intensive."

One night Dimitrov asked himself if there was an easier way to label each molecule of each gene and then just count them up. "I got up and started scribbling and drawing on pieces of paper in the kitchen. I didn't go to bed until early in the morning. When I woke up, my wife was standing in the kitchen looking at all the paper. She asked me what had happened." Dimitrov explained his concept to his wife and spent the next few nights brainstorming ideas. That is how the NanoString Technologies idea was born.

In December of 2000, Dimitrov pitched his idea to Hood and described how he wanted to start a company to develop a faster, cheaper and more accurate way to label and count genes. Hood urged Dimitrov to remain at ISB and develop the technology in an academic setting. "I presented the concept to the Executive Committee of ISB, which consisted of Hood, Alan Aderem, and Ruedi Aebersold," said Dimitrov. "A week later the Institute provided funds for the initial development."

In January of 2002, Dimitrov hired Dwayne Dunaway, who had just received a Ph.D in Bioengineering from the University of Washington, to help speed the development of the NanoString technology. "Now we have a convincing 'proof-of-principle' and are in search of investors to fund us to the 'prototype' stage," explained Dimitrov. Due to their early success, Dimitrov and his colleagues are currently in the process of spinning out NanoString Technologies from ISB into an independent company. In addition to winning the $25,000 grand prize in the UW Business Plan Competition, NanoString Technologies also recently took home $15,000 for placing third in the Purdue National Life Sciences Business Plan Competition.

One of the things that truly excites Dimitrov about the NanoString technology is how much it reduces the level of sophistication required for analyzing DNA. "Microarrays are never going to be as cheap and easy to use as our technology promises to be. This is what is going to take us from the research and development market into much broader and larger markets, such as diagnostics and predictive, preventative and personalized medicine." Potential applications for NanoString's technology may include virus testing, agricultural inspection, forensics, food and water safety, and environmental monitoring.

Despite his incredibly busy schedule, Dimitrov still finds time for family. "Just the other day I gave an interview to an editor for a trade newsletter. The editor asked about my hobbies, which I found extremely amusing. Trying to start a company takes most of my time, but in the free minutes I do have, I spend time with my three-year-old son Krassen K. and one-year-old daughter Emma. They are the two chattering and giggling 'inventions' I am most proud of."

Davis Wright Tremaine extends our congratulations to Dr. Dimitrov for your accomplishments and recognition to date, and the bright future for NanoString and your innovative technology. We wish you continued support and success.

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