Contemporary · France and Germany
Emmanuelle Charpentier
Born 1968
Their story
Why Emmanuelle Charpentier matters
Charpentier's research on bacterial immune systems helped reveal how Cas9 could be guided to cut DNA.
Emmanuelle Charpentier worked in France and Germany during the Contemporary era. Today's researchers can combine powerful computers, international teams and extremely precise instruments, while also considering how discoveries affect society and the planet.
Work in microbiology depends on close attention to living systems and evidence that can be compared. Emmanuelle Charpentier's story shows how careful records and testable explanations can gradually improve what people know about life and health.
Key discovery or invention
Developing CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.
Emmanuelle Charpentier's central contribution was developing CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.
The breakthrough connected observations of living things with a clearer explanation of how a body, organism or ecosystem works. Evidence could then guide better questions, comparisons and, in some cases, treatments.
Why it still matters: Modern biology and medicine continue this cycle of observation, testing, revision and careful use of evidence. Emmanuelle Charpentier's work is one chapter in that continuing story rather than the final word.
She and Jennifer Doudna shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.