Most science experiments fail. A few experiments are successful, and even fewer win Nobel Prizes.

Jennifer Doudna is one of the rare, talented people who has won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her achievements, and the award was well-deserved.

Doudna’s science journey began in Hawaii, where she lived from the time she was 7 years old. It was there that she became excited about “working on the chemistry of life,” and led her to eventually begin studying RNA and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, a bacterial immune system known as CRISPR. Doudna found inspiration from the people and knowledge that surrounded her every day.

“My high school chemistry teacher Ms. Wong … taught us that science is about discovery. It’s about consulting puzzles,” Doudna said. “I think I would have to credit my father for turning me on to the double helix [with] a book by James Watson about the discovery of the DNA structure.”

Doudna has made bounds not just for gene editing technology, but for women in science. Her contributions to CRISPR led her and her research partner, Emmanuelle Charpentier, to be the first all-female duo to win a Nobel Prize.

In 2020, Doudna and Charpentier won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 technique, a method of efficient gene editing. ​​Various strategies to edit DNA have been tested since the 1960s. However, it wasn’t until 2012, when Doudna and Charpentier published their first paper describing the CRISPR-Cas9 system, that reliable, flexible and efficient genome editing technologies became a reality. CRISPR is an immune system in bacteria, and Cas9 is a protein that plays an important role in this immunological defense by cutting DNA.

“We figured out that [CRISPR-Cas9] works by targeting viral DNA and cutting it up. Once we understood the chemistry of that process, we figured out how to harness it as a powerful tool for making targeted changes in … DNA sequences.”

CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful technology, but serious ethical considerations are coupled with its potential. Doudna says there is great potential for both advancements and risk when it comes to using the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

For example, in 2018, a Chinese scientist created the first genetically edited babies – twin girls who were edited to have immunity against HIV for a couple of whom the father was HIV positive. This subsequently sparked international ethical debates and criticism.

“We have to be very thoughtful about how it’s going to be used in the future. And that’s a challenge that all of us now face,” Doudna said.

With these advancements, many wonder about the long-term effects of changing DNA using CRISPR-Cas9 and the permanent changes it may have on future generations. Doudna believes these implications should not deter future research.

“At the same time that science and technology has been accelerating, we’ve been decreasing our interactions between scientists and nonscientists in a way that has been harmful,” Doudna said. “I think that needs to change.”

Doudna encourages “bringing science to nonscientists” in an easily understandable way. In her discussion with Walter Isaacson, professor of history at Tulane University, on Friday, March 28, Doudna spoke about the importance of science in journalism in establishing a relationship with communities when discussing scientific breakthroughs, particularly concerning research funding. Doudna stressed the importance of “taxpayer funded research” given the current National Institutes of Health funding cuts.

“We have to be speaking up about the importance of the value of what we’re doing … Taxpayers will have to lobby their congressional representatives and decide if they want America to stay at the top with science and technology,” Doudna said. “We have to work to make sure that taxpayers understand the value. ”

Doudna also works with students, and finds fulfillment in mentoring their projects.

“I find it incredibly exciting to work with students, with up-and-coming scientists who are the next generation of people who will make the new discoveries,” Doudna said.

To students and young scientists hoping to get involved in research, Doudna stresses that hard skills like computer coding and science knowledge are just as important as life skills like perseverance.

“I think that it’s really powerful to reach down into our hearts and realize that we each have passions, things that we’re excited about doing, and despite the challenges, it’s still worth pursuing those passions,” Doudna said.