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A close up of a tick held in a pair of forceps, with Kevin Esvelt’s face out of focus in the background.
CRISPR Gene Drives and the Future of Evolution
Genetic engineering pioneer Kevin Esvelt’s work highlights biotechnology’s immense potential for good—but also for catastrophe.
CRISPR Gene Drives and the Future of Evolution
CRISPR Gene Drives and the Future of Evolution

Genetic engineering pioneer Kevin Esvelt’s work highlights biotechnology’s immense potential for good—but also for catastrophe.

Genetic engineering pioneer Kevin Esvelt’s work highlights biotechnology’s immense potential for good—but also for catastrophe.

Profile

Haydeh Payami is wearing a purple dress and an orange and pink scarf and standing in front of a whiteboard.
A Microbial Link to Parkinson’s Disease
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Dec 4, 2023 | 6 min read
Haydeh Payami helped uncover the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease. Now, she hopes to find new ways to treat the disease by studying the gut microbiome.
Samantha Maragh speaks on stage after receiving the State of Maryland Outstanding Young Scientist Award 2019.
Making Standards Exceptional
Meenakshi Prabhune, PhD | Dec 4, 2023 | 9 min read
Samantha Maragh has taken on the difficult challenge of standardizing assays, data norms, and terminology in the ever evolving genome editing field.
Lasker Award winner Piet Borst sits at his desk.
A Journey With Metabolism, Parasites, and Cancer
Laura Tran, PhD | Sep 21, 2023 | 7 min read
Piet Borst led stellar work on cell organelles, trypanosomes, and cancer drug resistance during the golden age of biology.
Matthew Disney
A Quest to Drug RNA
Ida Emilie Steinmark, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 5 min read
Matthew Disney’s idea of small molecules that target RNA once seemed fanciful. Now, even the pharma industry is pursuing it
Erkin Kuru (left) and Helena de Puig (right).
Lighting Up Diagnostics
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 6 min read
Brought together by a shared interest in synthetic biology and diagnostics, two researchers are transforming how we label biomolecules.
A man wearing a dark blue sweater is smiling and standing in front of a building
When Microbes Meet the Immune System
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 3 min read
Timothy Hand leads a research team that explores how maternal immune signals shape the infant intestinal microbiota.
For the Greater Good: A Profile of Eva Harris
Diana Kwon | Jul 13, 2020 | 10 min read
Through groundbreaking studies on dengue and efforts to build scientific infrastructure in Latin America, the University of California, Berkeley, professor has bridged research with its benefits to society.
The Father of Autoimmunity: A Profile of Noel Rose
Diana Kwon | Jun 1, 2020 | 9 min read
By revealing that animals could develop immune responses against their own tissues, the physician-scientist established an entirely new field of science.
Unravelling Memory’s Mysteries: A Profile of Elizabeth Buffalo
Diana Kwon | May 1, 2020 | 9 min read
Studying nonhuman primates, the University of Washington neuroscientist has identified important features of the neural underpinnings of learning and memory.
Cracking Down on Cancer: A Profile of Owen Witte
Diana Kwon | Apr 1, 2020 | 9 min read
Through his studies on cancer-causing viruses, the University of California, Los Angeles, professor has helped develop lifesaving treatments.
Into the Light: A Profile of Joanne Chory
Emily Makowski | Mar 1, 2020 | 8 min read
The plant geneticist has revolutionized researchers’ understanding of how light affects plant growth and development, and is engineering plants to combat climate change.
Switch Master: A Profile of Barbara Meyer
Diana Kwon | Jan 13, 2020 | 9 min read
Working with bacteriophages and nematodes, the University of California, Berkeley, molecular biologist uncovered a role for genetic switches in early development.
Exploring the Matrix: A Profile of Zena Werb
Diana Kwon | Dec 1, 2019 | 7 min read
The cell and molecular biologist unveiled a role for the breakdown of proteins in the extracellular matrix in both healthy and pathogenic cells.
Watcher of Whales: A Profile of Roger Payne
Diana Kwon | Nov 1, 2019 | 9 min read
A love of music and science led the marine biologist to discover that whales sing songs, a discovery that he’s since used to convince the world the animals are worth saving.
The Cerebellum’s Secrets: A Profile of Kamran Khodakhah
Anna Azvolinsky | Oct 1, 2019 | 8 min read
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine neuroscientist has revealed surprising functions of the brain region, such as its role in the brain’s rewards circuits and in addiction.
Defining Rare Disorders: A Profile of Judith Hall
Anna Azvolinsky | Sep 1, 2019 | 8 min read
By bringing genetics into clinical medicine, the University of British Columbia medical geneticist helped to identify the gene mutations responsible for many rare diseases.
Stuart Orkin
In Our Blood: A Profile of Stuart Orkin
Anna Azvolinsky | Jul 15, 2019 | 9 min read
By unraveling the molecular underpinnings of inherited blood disorders, the Boston Children’s Hospital researcher has provided the basis for therapies now being tested for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease.
Microbe Miner: A Profile of Rob Knight
Anna Azvolinsky | Jun 1, 2019 | 9 min read
Developing computational tools to analyze the reams of microbial sequencing data his lab generates, the UC San Diego microbiologist is a pioneer of microbiome research.
bob murphy
Robert Murphy Bets Self-Driving Instruments Will Crack Biology’s Mysteries
Shawna Williams | May 1, 2019 | 9 min read
The Carnegie Mellon computational biologist thinks machine learning algorithms can direct high-throughput experiments to solve the field’s unanswered questions.
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