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What makes CRISPR Cas9 such a groundbreaking genome editing tool? Hear from CRISPRCas9 pioneer Feng Zhang,  Ph.D., who shares not only what makes the tool so unique and how it works but also his personal journey into #science, which began with the film Jurassic Park. Zhang, who engineered the CRISPRCas9 system to work in human cells, is now using the tool to understand and treat human diseases, such as neurological disorders. In this short film, he compares CRISPRCas9 to past available genomeediting tools, including zinc finger and transcription activatorlike effector (TALE) nucleases. 

Speaker Biography: 
Feng Zhang, Ph.D., is a core institute member of the @BroadInstitute of MIT and Harvard, as well as an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, the James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, and a professor at MIT. Zhang is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Visit his lab website: https://zlab.bio.

Zhang is a molecular biologist developing and applying novel molecular technologies for studying the brain. He pioneered the development of genome editing tools for use in eukaryotic cells – including human cells – from natural microbial CRISPRCas9 systems. He and his team have adapted multiple other CRISPR systems for use as genome engineering tools, including RNAtargeting CRISPRCas13 systems and CRISPRassociated transposon systems, which can be used for gene insertion.

Producers: Shannon Behrman, Meredith DeSalazar, Sarah Goodwin, Regina Sobel
Cinematographers: Derek Reich, Amanda McGrady
Interview by: Adam Bolt 
Editor: Lee Rossoff  
Graphics: Chris George, Maggie Hubbard
Associate Producer: Shelley Elizabeth Carter
Executive Producers: Shannon Behrman, Sarah Goodwin, Elliot Kirschner

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