The Russian president's daughter who advises on engineering human babies
In short: Maria Vorontsova is not just a figure of political intrigue; she is a high-level pediatric endocrinologist. While her family history involves KGB connections and international moves, her professional life centers on the cutting edge of genetic engineering and state-funded medical research.
Vorontsova's upbringing was marked by significant geopolitical shifts. Born in 1985 in Leningrad, she spent time in East Germany in the late 1980s before returning to Russia in 1991. During the violent gang wars in Saint Petersburg that threatened the energy trade, her father, Vladimir Putin, reportedly sent her and her sister to Germany for safety. There, they were under the guardianship of Matthias Warnig, a former Stasi officer who had worked with Putin in a KGB cell.
Her education was deeply rooted in German institutions, including the German School Moscow. She eventually graduated from Moscow State University in 2011 with a degree in medicine. She then pursued a PhD candidacy at the Endocrinology Research Centre in Moscow. Her work involves co-authoring studies on blood antioxidant systems and idiopathic stunting in children, as well as a book on childhood growth disorders.
The intersection of her personal and professional lives has drawn intense international scrutiny. Vorontsova is credited as an advisor to Putin on genetic engineering, specifically regarding the use of CRISPR technology to create genetically engineered babies. In 2022, the United States, New Zealand, Japan, the European Union, and the United Kingdom all imposed sanctions against her. Treasury alleging she leads state-funded programs receiving billions of dollars from the Kremlin.
Her personal life has also been a subject of public record. She was married to a Dutch businessman, Jorrit Faassen, from 2008 until 2022, and is currently married to Yevgeny Nagorny, who works for the Russian oil and gas company Novatek. She continues to be a notable Russian medical genetics personality, having joined the Moscow Society of Medical Genetics' board in 2023.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Maria Vorontsova
- Also: Maria Vorontsova
- Also: Wikidata — Maria S. Vorontsova · CC0
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