The Story of
Jennifer Doudna
Of CRISPR-Cas9, Genome Editing, and a Nobel Prize
In her 2021 autobiography of the same name, Dr. Jennifer Doudna has been called “The Code Breaker”, and appropriately so, as this modern-day STEM role model goes on revolutionizing gene-editing with her research on CRISPR-Cas9. Dr. Doudna is an American Biochemist whose findings have the potential to open new doors for gene-therapies, food production, and potentially, the future of humanity.
The discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 leads Dr. Doudna, along with Emmanuelle Charpentier to win the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as the tool continues to thrive on the promises of new genetic therapies and better food production.
Earlier, in 2015 she and Charpentier each received the $3 million Breakthrough Prize from tech industry leaders. Time magazine listed them among the world’s 100 most influential people. She was also a runner-up for Time Person of the Year in 2016 alongside other CRISPR researchers.
It was always thought that bacteria did not have immunological memories (like the circulating antibodies in humans). That is, until 2007 when it was discovered that they employ a genetic mechanism called CRISPR to remember and fight off viral invasions.
CRISPR is a natural defence mechanism, and along with translated RNA molecules and protein Cas9, it cuts up the attacking virus’s genetic material. It snips out a piece of DNA at a precise point on the genome, much like a molecular scissor.
Soon, it dawned upon Dr. Doudna that she re-engineer the components in a lab to edit the genome of different organisms. This tool could find and snip out particular DNA regions or even insert a new gene between cut ends. Hence, CRISPR-Cas9 was born, the most effective genome editing tool available today.
Doudna credits her success to her mentors from the days of her early career and realises that her powerful profile makes her a role model for girls in STEM around the world.
She notes how female trainees tend to be much more discouraged from applying to jobs, fellowships, and graduate programs. “I think that for a lot of women, there’s a subtle but unfortunately effective discouragement of women pursuing the STEM fields.”
In an interview at the World Economic Forum, Doudna said, “And we just want to show women they can pursue these fields and they can be feminine, they can be mothers, they can be wives—they really can do all those things and do it on their terms.”