Fifty-Fourth George Gamow Memorial Lecture - Dr. Jennifer Doudna
"Genome Editing the Future: Improving Human and Planet Health with CRISPR"
Dr. Jennifer Doudna
2020 Nobel Laureate - Chemistry
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Innovative Genomics Institute University of California Berkeley & UCSF/Gladstone Institutes
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Macky Auditorium
University of Colorado Boulder
Free admission - doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Fundamental research to understand how bacteria fight viral infections uncovered the function of CRISPR-Cas programmable proteins that detect and cut specific DNA or RNA sequences. CRISPR technology is now an indispensable tool in human, animal and agricultural research. Furthermore, the FDA’s approval of a CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease marked the beginning of a new era in healthcare. I will discuss the scientific and societal advances that will expand both the applications and impact of genome editing across the globe.
Jennifer Doudna shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Emmanuelle Charpentier “for the development of a method for genome editing.” The method, known as CRISPR, is used to selectively modify the
DNA of living organisms. Professor Doudna is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences, and a Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology at the University of California Berkeley.
Her research focuses on RNA as it forms a variety of complex globular structures, some of which function like enzymes or form functional complexes with proteins. Her lab's research into RNA biology led to the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 as a tool for making targeted changes to the genome. In bacteria, CRISPR systems preserve invading genetic material and incorporate it into surveillance complexes to achieve adaptive immunity. Crystal structures of diverse Cas9 proteins reveal RNA-mediated conformational activation. Current research in the Doudna lab focuses on discovering and determining the mechanisms of novel CRISPR-Cas and associated proteins; developing genome editing tools for use in vitro, in plants, and in mammals; and developing anti-CRISPR agents. New discoveries in this field continue at a rapid pace, revealing a technology that has widespread applications in many areas of biology.