Emmanuelle laid the foundation for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, during her time as a group leader at the Perutz (2002–2009). The honorary doctorate celebrates her pioneering scientific achievements and recognizes the important role of basic, curiosity-driven research in driving new discoveries.

In her public lecture, Emmanuelle Charpentier highlighted the importance of the unique collaborative environment at the Vienna BioCenter for her scientific research on molecular mechanisms in bacterial pathogens. “I particularly enjoyed being part of the network of researchers at the Max Perutz Labs that focused on discovering small RNAs in bacteria and other organisms, which played a crucial role for the CRISPR project”, she shared.

“The Perutz is immensely proud to have had Emmanuelle Charpentier as a faculty member. Her legacy continues to inspire research at our institute to this day.” says Scientific Director Alwin Köhler.

A discovery that changed science

Key aspects of CRISPR-Cas9 were first uncovered by Emmanuelle Charpentier during her time at the Perutz, and further developed by her research group at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden at Umeå University, Sweden.

While at the Max Perutz Labs, Charpentier made a critical breakthrough: she identified a small ribonucleic acid, which she named tracrRNA, as the missing component needed to activate the gene-editing system.

Emmanuelle then continued her research in Sweden, where she collaborated with Jennifer Doudna from the University of California, Berkeley. Together, they developed the method to harness CRISPR-Cas9 – known as the ‘Genetic Scissors’ - for precise genome editing, a breakthrough that revolutionized molecular biology and earned them the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

About Emmanuelle Charpentier

Emmanuelle Charpentier studied biochemistry, genetics and microbiology at the University Pierre and Marie Curie (now Sorbonne University) in Paris, where she received her PhD in microbiology. Following her studies in France, she spent more than five years working in the U.S., where she held research associate positions in New York at the Rockefeller University, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine and New York University Langone Medical Center, and in Memphis, Tennessee at the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

In 2002, she moved back to Europe to lead her first independent research group as a Guest, Assistant and Associate Professor at the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna in Austria, where she habilitated in Microbiology in 2006.

Prior to her current appointments and until 2017, Emmanuelle Charpentier was Associate Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS, within the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine) and visiting Professor at the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR), Umeå University, Sweden.
Emmanuelle is currently the Scientific and Managing Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, Germany.

Read the news about Emmanuelle’s Nobel prize (2020)