Genetic diseases can have devastating consequences for the people who inherit them. In recent years, scientists have found that there are human genetic diseases that might be treatable, and perhaps even curable, through gene editing. Gene editing is the process by which sections of a person’s DNA are altered. Commonly compared to a word processor or a pencil and eraser, precision gene editing agents can alter sections of a person’s genome to correct “misspellings,” or mutations, in their DNA.
David Liu is a professor of natural sciences at Harvard University. He co-founded several biotechnology companies including Prime Medicine, Beam Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, Chroma Medicine, Pairwise Plants, Exo Therapeutics, Resonance Medicine, and Nvelop Therapeutics. Liu and his team pioneered base editing and prime editing, two new innovative methods of gene editing that allow for precise alterations to a person’s genetic code.
