Feng Zhang
PROFESSOR FENG ZHANG
James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT
About the speaker
Dr Feng Zhang is a molecular biologist focused on improving human health. He played an integral role in the development of two revolutionary technologies, optogenetics and CRISPR-Cas systems, including pioneering the use of Cas9 for genome editing and discovering CRISPR-Cas12 and Cas13 systems and developing them for therapeutic and diagnostics applications.
Dr Zhang’s seminal work provided the foundation for CRISPR-based medicines, and his discoveries continue to fuel the clinical translation of CRISPR technologies. Additionally, he developed the diagnostic platform, SHERLOCK, which is being leveraged to help monitor infectious diseases, including the recent coronavirus outbreak.
Dr Zhang is a core member of the Broad Institute, an Investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, the James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, and a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. He is also a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
About the lecture: The Future of Medical Innovation: Genome Editing Tools
In the first-ever webinar for Iconic Voices from MIT, join Dr Feng Zhang, a trailblazer in molecular biology, as he discusses how natural systems, like CRISPR, are being harnessed to improve human health. Dr Zhang pioneered the use of CRISPR for genome editing, a revolutionary technology that has the potential to change how we treat disease.
Read more about the speaker and his work