Emmanuelle Charpentier

Emmanuelle Charpentier is a French microbiologist, geneticist, and biochemist. She serves as the Scientific and Managing Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens (MPUSP) in Berlin, Germany, and is an Honorary Professor at Humboldt University. She also holds the title of Visiting Professor at Umeå University, Sweden.

Education includes a Ph.D. in microbiology from the Pasteur Institute and University Pierre & Marie Curie (now Sorbonne University), Paris, France. She pursued postdoctoral work at institutions in the U.S., including The Rockefeller University, New York University Medical Center, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Charpentier’s research focuses on the CRISPR-Cas9 adaptive immune system in bacteria like Streptococcus pyogenes, contributing to genome editing technology. Her work bridges microbiology, genetics, and molecular biology, with emphasis on infection biology, antibiotic resistance, and virulence mechanisms. She has co-founded companies CRISPR Therapeutics and ERS Genomics.

Her scientific awards include the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Japan Prize, Kavli Prize, Wolf Prize, Tang Prize, Breakthrough Prize, Canada Gairdner International Prize, Massry Prize, and L’Oréal-UNESCO Award. She is a member of multiple international academies.