American biochemist Jennifer A Doudna won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a method of genome editing known as CRISPR along with French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier. Reacting to the great achievement his former student conferred, Doudna’s Harvard professor said, “The only thing better winning the Nobel Prize yourself is having one of your former students win it.”
“You were always a star” Jack Szostak, who mentored Doudna for her PhD at Harvard University also said.
On Wednesday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for chemistry to two women. It was the first time a Nobel prize was shared by two women.
Doudna celebrated her win at her lab in University of California, Berkely. Doudna is Professor in the department of chemistry and the department of molecular and cell biology.
“My greatest hope is that it’s used for good, to uncover new mysteries in biology and to benefit humankind,” news agency AP quoted Doudna as saying after her win in Stockholm.
“I’m always excited about doing science because I love the people I work with and I love the discoveries,” she also said Jennifer Doudna in a virtual address on Zoom.
The breakthrough research done by Charpentier and Doudna was published in 2012, making the discovery very recent compared with a lot of other Nobel-winning research, which is often honoured only after decades have passed.
{{/usCountry}}The breakthrough research done by Charpentier and Doudna was published in 2012, making the discovery very recent compared with a lot of other Nobel-winning research, which is often honoured only after decades have passed.
{{/usCountry}}CRISPR is a very simple technique for cutting a gene at a specific spot, allowing scientists to operate on flaws that are the root cause of many diseases.