On 7 October 2020, the Nobel Prize for chemistry was awarded to Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier from the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin and to Dr Jennifer A. Doudna from the University of California, Berkeley “for the development of a method for genome editing”.
Above: Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier, credit – Hallbauer & Fioretti, Brauschweil, Germany
Both have discovered the genetic scissors called CRISPR/cas9, a tool to edit DNA with a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, enabling researchers to change the DNA of animals, plants, and microbes.
Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna are the first two women to share the prize and become the 7th and 8th woman to be awarded since Marie Curie first received it in 1901.
Charpentier has been widely recognised for her innovative research that laid the foundation for the ground-breaking CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering technology. She has received numerous prestigious international awards and distinctions and is an elected member of national and international scientific academies.
In 2014, the COST Action, Pathogen-informed strategies for sustainable broad-spectrum crop resistance had organised a training school for young PhD and Post-doctoral researchers to learn about the genome editing technique to modify plant genomes.
Among the international invited speakers and lectures, Prof. Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier presented the CRISPR-Cas9: from bacteria adaptive immunity to genome engineering to the 17 participants from 11 countries in Halle, Germany.
Training schools are among the COST Action networking tools providing a unique opportunity to the next generation of young researchers to learn from their peers.
Prof. Charpentier tweeted a strong message to young girls right after the Nobel Academy announcement:
“My wish is that this will provide a positive message to the young girls who would like to follow the path of science, and to show them that women in science can also have an impact through the research that they are performing.”
– 2020 Chemistry Laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier pic.twitter.com/pKZlrTZmXw
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 11, 2020
Dr Dennis Eriksson, Chair of the COST Action PlantED, welcomed the news.
“The Nobel prize rightly recognises the potential of genome editing. In a timely manner, PlantEd provides a unique platform for training, exchange of expertise and further scientific, economic and societal benefits to be realised through the utilisation of the technology in the lab and eventually the field. The COST Action PlantEd welcomes the timely recognition of CRISPR through 2020 year´s Nobel Prize in chemistry. It is a valuable assertion of the potential and impact of this technology, not least in applications for agriculture and food production.”
Additional information:
Information on Prof. Charpentier
Information on Dr Jennifer A Doudna
View related Actions:
Pathogen-informed strategies for sustainable broad-spectrum crop resistance
Genome editing in plants – a technology with transformative potential