Targeting a Genetic Accident to Treat Disease

David Liu shares how integrating chemistry and evolution in his research has directed his work on base editing techniques aimed at developing new therapeutics.

Written byDeanna MacNeil, PhD

| 2 min read

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Image credit:David Liu

David Liu is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. Liu’s lab has introduced breakthrough technologies to the field of genome editing, including base editing and prime editing, with the aim of treating genetic diseases. In their latest work, his research team took a “no stone unturned” approach to determine a one-time base editing strategy to treat the motor neuron disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). In this episode, Deanna MacNeil from The Scientist’s Creative Services Team spoke with Liu to learn more about his philosophy of science, which involves an appreciation of fundamental principles in chemistry and evolution.

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Science Philosophy in a Flash is a series of mini podcasts produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. With a focus on the people behind the science, this podcast highlights researchers’ unique outlook on what motivates their pursuit of science and what ...

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Meet the Author

Deanna MacNeil, PhD
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Deanna earned their PhD from McGill University in 2020, studying the cellular biology of aging and cancer. In addition to a passion for telomere research, Deanna has a multidisciplinary academic background in biochemistry and a professional background in medical writing, specializing in instructional design and gamification for scientific knowledge translation. They first joined The Scientist's Creative Services team part time as an intern and then full time as an assistant science editor. Deanna is currently an associate science editor, applying their science communication enthusiasm and SEO skillset across a range of written and multimedia pieces, including supervising content creation and editing of The Scientist's Brush Up Summaries.
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