Emmanuelle Charpentier(1968 — ?)
Emmanuelle Charpentier
France
8 min read
A French microbiologist and geneticist, she co-develops the CRISPR-Cas9 technique with Jennifer Doudna. This revolution in genome editing earns her the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born in 1968 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France
- Co-discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 technique with Jennifer Doudna in 2012
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020, shared with Jennifer Doudna
- Director of the Department of Regulation in Infection Biology at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin
- CRISPR-Cas9 opens the door to potential treatments for incurable genetic diseases
Works & Achievements
Charpentier published the discovery of tracrRNA, a small RNA essential to the functioning of the CRISPR-Cas9 system in Streptococcus pyogenes. This breakthrough was the missing piece that would directly lead to the development of the genome-editing tool.
Co-authored with Jennifer Doudna, this paper demonstrated that the Cas9 protein can be reprogrammed to cut any DNA sequence with unprecedented precision. It is considered one of the most important scientific publications of the 21st century.
Charpentier co-founded this biotechnology company aimed at developing medical therapies based on CRISPR-Cas9, symbolizing the transition from fundamental research to concrete applications for treating serious genetic diseases.
Charpentier founded and leads this new institute in Berlin, dedicated to studying the molecular mechanisms of infections. There she has full autonomy to direct her research toward new scientific frontiers.
The highest distinction, shared with Jennifer Doudna, awarded for the development of CRISPR-Cas9. It is the first time in history that two women have jointly shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Anecdotes
In 2011, at a microbiology conference in Puerto Rico, Emmanuelle Charpentier happened to meet American biochemist Jennifer Doudna while strolling through the streets of San Juan. This chance encounter sparked a historic scientific collaboration. In less than a year, the two researchers published one of the most revolutionary discoveries of the twenty-first century.
Before developing CRISPR-Cas9, Charpentier had worked at no fewer than nine institutions across five different countries: the United States, Austria, France, Sweden, and Germany. This nomadic life, driven by the search for the best possible scientific environment, allowed her to build an exceptional international network and to enrich her thinking through a wide variety of approaches.
In 2020, when the Nobel Committee called Emmanuelle Charpentier to announce the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, she was alone in her Berlin apartment at 4 a.m. Central European Time. It was the culmination of decades of fundamental research on bacteria — research that few would ever have imagined could lead to such a medical revolution.
Charpentier had long been fascinated by an apparently unremarkable bacterium, Streptococcus pyogenes, which causes strep throat and skin infections. It was while studying this bacterium's immune system that she discovered the crucial role of a small RNA she named tracrRNA — the key component of the future CRISPR-Cas9 tool, and a fundamental finding born from research with no predefined application.
Despite highly attractive offers from major American universities, Emmanuelle Charpentier chose in 2018 to establish her own research unit in Berlin. She thereby became the first woman to lead a Max Planck unit in Germany without being a German national, a testament to her scientific standing recognized on a global scale.
Primary Sources
We show that Cas9 endonucleases can be programmed with guide RNA engineered as a single transcript to cleave any dsDNA sequence. Our work highlights the potential to exploit the CRISPR-Cas9 system for RNA-programmable genome editing.
The type II CRISPR-Cas9 system provides an efficient means of introducing site-specific double-strand breaks in the genome. The Cas9 nuclease is directed to specific genomic loci by a short guide RNA.
CRISPR-Cas9 has been a transformative technology for biological research. The simplicity and versatility of this system have allowed scientists worldwide to edit the genomes of virtually any organism with unprecedented precision, opening new avenues for treating genetic diseases.
The CRISPR-Cas9 technology has rapidly become the tool of choice for genome editing in a wide range of organisms. Its simplicity, efficiency, and low cost have democratized functional genomics research.
Key Places
Emmanuelle Charpentier's birthplace, in the greater Paris region. She grew up there before moving to Paris to study biochemistry at university.
Where Charpentier studied biochemistry and microbiology and defended her doctoral thesis in 1995 — the founding institution of her scientific training.
The prestigious microbiology research institute where Charpentier worked in the 1990s. The Pasteur spirit — fundamental research in the service of human health — left a lasting mark on her scientific approach.
The German research centre where Charpentier led a laboratory and carried out some of her foundational work on the CRISPR system in pathogenic bacteria.
The institute Charpentier founded and has directed since 2018. There she continues her research into the molecular mechanisms of bacterial infections with full scientific independence.
The Swedish capital where Emmanuelle Charpentier received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry at the ceremony on 10 December 2020 — a historic recognition of her work.
