Amit Choudhary
The power of CRISPR Cas9 comes with great responsibility
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About Amit Choudhary
Chemist, biophysicist and professor Amit Choudhary is a renowned pioneer in the development of precision control tools for genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9 in multiple systems, including gene drives. In 2011 Amit was appointed a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows and was hosted by Professor Stuart Schreiber at the Broad Institute where his research focused on beta-cell chemical biology. Amit’s laboratory, The Choudhary Laboratory, now develops chemical technologies and studies exceptional organisms that survive conditions considered pathological to humans. The Choudhary Laboratory has been widely recognized by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Innovation Award, Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s Career Award at the Scientific Interface, NIH Director's Transformative Research Award, DARPA's Safe Genes award, and Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Sciences. Amit is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an Associate Biologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Find out moreAbout This Talk
Spiderman and CRISPR-Taming Chemist Amit Choudhary both tell us that "with great power comes great responsibility". In Amit's case, he speaks of power and responsibility with CRISPR gene editing technology. Today, the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 serves as a "genetic 'find and replace' function," that allows one to search and cut a DNA sequence at its precise location. Yet, this powerful tool must be used with great responsibility, given that a misstep could have irreversible consequences. Amit has pioneered precision tools - small molecule inhibitors, activators, and shredders - to control Cas9 activity. Having successfully fine-tuned CRISPR activity with first generation technologies, Amit is eager to pave the way for everyone to benefit from this gene editing technology safely and responsibly.
Amit's journey with precision control tools for CRISPR-Cas9 demonstrates that responsible use of technology allows us to build solutions that are both effective and finely tuned. Watch his TEDMED 2020 Talk "The power of CRISPR-Cas9 comes with great responsibility", now on TEDMED.com.