Emmanuelle Charpentier

Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier is a leading geneticist renowned for co-developing the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology. She currently directs the Max Planck Research Center for the Science of Pathogens, an institution she founded in Berlin. A Sorbonne University alumna, she earned her microbiology doctorate in 1995 and held research/teaching roles across Austria, Sweden, and Germany.

• Education: PhD in Microbiology (Sorbonne University, 1995)
• Awards: Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2020), French Academy of Sciences membership, Academy of Technologies membership

Her CRISPR-Cas9 work revolutionized genetic engineering, enabling precise DNA modifications with applications in medicine, agriculture, and environmental science. This technology is used to treat genetic diseases, enhance crop yields, and explore species revival. In 2014, she co-founded CRISPR Therapeutics to advance therapeutic applications of this innovation.

Labs/Teams: Directs the Max Planck Research Center for Pathogen Science, pioneering studies in pathogen biology and CRISPR-based technologies.