Omar AbudayyehView profile
Professor
Omar Abudayyeh, PhD is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School , an Investigator at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass General Brigham’s Gene and Cell Therapy Institute , and a faculty member in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University . Previously, he was a McGovern Fellow at MIT directing his own research group and earned his PhD in Feng Zhang’s lab at the Broad Institute. Education: PhD, Harvard Medical School / MIT, Broad Institute (Feng Zhang lab) – CRISPR enzyme discovery & engineering SB, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2012) Two years of MD studies, Harvard Medical School Research Interests: Dr. Abudayyeh’s laboratory pioneers next-generation CRISPR systems for genome editing , gene therapy , and molecular diagnostics . They focus on discovering novel RNA-guided nucleases , engineering programmable integrases for large-cargo gene insertion, and developing point-of-care diagnostic platforms leveraging multi-effector CRISPR cascades. Recent work integrates artificial intelligence with protein engineering to accelerate evolution of high-performance enzymes. Publication Trends: Across >50 recent publications (2022-2025), a dominant theme is the expansion of the CRISPR toolbox: from Fanzors —eukaryotic RNA-guided nucleases—to PASTE systems enabling kilobase-scale insertions without double-strand breaks, and AI-driven protein evolution platforms like EVOLVEpro. Diagnostic innovations include multiplexed Cas13 assays for SARS-CoV-2 and malaria, deaminase-based RNA sensors, and field-deployable CRISPR tests. Scientific Awards & Honors: Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst Endpoints 20 under 40 Next Generation of Biotech Leaders 2022 Termeer Scholar 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 Business Insider 30 under 30 2018 TEDMED Hive honoree 2013 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow Funding & Teams: Dr. Abudayyeh leads an interdisciplinary team across the Gene and Cell Therapy Institute , integrating molecular biology, computational design, and translational medicine. His group is supported by federal grants, industry partnerships, and foundation awards focused on accelerating CRISPR tools to clinical reality.





