World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Award Badge
Best Female Scientists
2025
Award Badge
Genetics
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Best Female Scientists

D-Index
155
Citations
124450
World Ranking
122
National Ranking
71

Genetics

D-Index
159
Citations
135483
World Ranking
99
National Ranking
49

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Genetics in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Best Female Scientists Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Genetics in United States Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics in United States Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Genetics in United States Leader Award
  • 2020 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
  • 2020 - Nobel Prize for the development of a method for genome editing
  • 2018 - NAS Award in Chemical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences (US) For co-inventing the technology for efficient site-specific genome engineering using CRISPR/Cas9 nucleases.
  • 2017 - F.A. Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research, American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • 2017 - Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research
  • 2017 - Japan Prize for deciphering the molecular details of the type II bacterial immune system CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas and the creation of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system, a truly revolutionary technique in genetic engineering, far more economical and faster than those previously available.
  • 2016 - BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
  • 2016 - Fellow of the Royal Society, United Kingdom
  • 2016 - Murray Goodman Memorial Prize, American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • 2016 - Canada Gairdner International Award
  • 2016 - Warren Alpert Foundation Prize For remarkable contributions to the understanding of the CRISPR bacterial defense system and the revolutionary discovery that it can be adapted for genome editing.
  • 2015 - Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for harnessing an ancient mechanism of bacterial immunity into a powerful and general technology for editing genomes, with wide-ranging implications across biology and medicine.
  • 2015 - Gruber Prize in Genetics
  • 2014 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2014 - Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research, Johnson & Johnson for their work on a new method for precise and facile genomic editing.
  • 2014 - Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
  • 2010 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
  • 2008 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 2002 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2000 - National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award Biochemistry

Overview

Jennifer A. Doudna is affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. Their work spans multiple domains within biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, with a particular focus on molecular biology and infectious diseases. The primary research topics associated with their work include CRISPR and genetic engineering, RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, bacteriophages and microbial interactions, SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing, advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques, and RNA regulation and disease.

They have published extensively in many scientific venues. The most frequent publication outlets include bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Nature Communications, Nucleic Acids Research, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These journals reflect the varied fields and topics covered in their research.

Frequent co-authors collaborating with Jennifer A. Doudna include Marena Trinidad, Benjamin A. Adler, Alison Ciling, Jillian F. Banfield, and Mélanie Ott. These collaborations highlight a network of researchers contributing to overlapping scientific investigations and advancements.

Several recent papers illustrate the scope and impact of their research:

  • The promise and challenge of therapeutic genome editing, 2020, Nature
  • Phage-assisted evolution of an adenine base editor with improved Cas domain compatibility and activity, 2020, Nature Biotechnology
  • Amplification-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 with CRISPR-Cas13a and mobile phone microscopy, 2020, Cell
  • CRISPR technology: A decade of genome editing is only the beginning, 2023, Science
  • CRISPR-CasΦ from huge phages is a hypercompact genome editor, 2020, Science

The scientist has been recognized with numerous awards acknowledging their contributions to chemical sciences and genome editing technologies. These honors include the Nobel Prize in 2020 for the development of a method for genome editing, the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences from the National Academy of Sciences (US) in 2018 for co-inventing efficient site-specific genome engineering technology using CRISPR/Cas9 nucleases, and the Japan Prize in 2017 for deciphering the molecular details of the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

Additional distinctions received include the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (2017), Fellow of the Royal Society (2016), Canada Gairdner International Award (2016), Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2016), Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2015), Gruber Prize in Genetics (2015), and memberships or fellowships in the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Early in their career, they were awarded the National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award in 2000.

Best Publications

  • A programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity.

    Martin Jinek;Krzysztof Chylinski;Krzysztof Chylinski;Ines Fonfara;Michael Hauer

  • The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9

    Jennifer A. Doudna;Jennifer A. Doudna;Emmanuelle Charpentier;Emmanuelle Charpentier

  • Repurposing CRISPR as an RNA-guided platform for sequence-specific control of gene expression.

    Lei S. Qi;Matthew H. Larson;Luke A. Gilbert;Jennifer A. Doudna

  • CRISPR-Mediated Modular RNA-Guided Regulation of Transcription in Eukaryotes

    Luke A. Gilbert;Matthew H. Larson;Leonardo Morsut;Zairan Liu

  • CRISPR-Cas12a target binding unleashes indiscriminate single-stranded DNase activity

    Janice S. Chen;Enbo Ma;Lucas B. Harrington;Maria Da Costa

  • RNA-programmed genome editing in human cells

    Martin Jinek;Alexandra East;Aaron Cheng;Steven Lin

  • RNA-guided genetic silencing systems in bacteria and archaea

    Blake Wiedenheft;Samuel H. Sternberg;Jennifer A. Doudna

  • DNA interrogation by the CRISPR RNA-guided endonuclease Cas9

    Samuel H. Sternberg;Sy Redding;Martin Jinek;Eric C. Greene

  • CRISPR-Cas9 Structures and Mechanisms.

    Fuguo Jiang;Jennifer A. Doudna

  • High-throughput profiling of off-target DNA cleavage reveals RNA-programmed Cas9 nuclease specificity

    Vikram Pattanayak;Steven Lin;John P Guilinger;Enbo Ma

  • Crystal Structure of a Group I Ribozyme Domain: Principles of RNA Packing

    Jamie H. Cate;Anne R. Gooding;Anne R. Gooding;Elaine Podell;Elaine Podell;Kaihong Zhou

  • Structures of Cas9 Endonucleases Reveal RNA- Mediated Conformational Activation

    Martin Jinek;Fuguo Jiang;David W. Taylor;David W. Taylor;Samuel H. Sternberg

  • Structural basis for double-stranded RNA processing by Dicer.

    Ian J. MacRae;Kaihong Zhou;Fei Li;Adrian Repic

  • Enhanced homology-directed human genome engineering by controlled timing of CRISPR/Cas9 delivery.

    Steven Lin;Brett T Staahl;Ravi K Alla;Jennifer A Doudna

  • CRISPR-Cas guides the future of genetic engineering.

    Gavin J. Knott;Jennifer A. Doudna

  • Molecular Mechanisms of RNA Interference

    Ross C. Wilson;Jennifer A. Doudna

  • Enhanced Proofreading Governs CRISPR-Cas9 Targeting Accuracy

    Janice S. Chen;Yavuz S. Dagdas;Benjamin P. Kleinstiver;Moira M. Welch

  • Biology and Applications of CRISPR Systems: Harnessing Nature’s Toolbox for Genome Engineering

    Addison V. Wright;James K. Nuñez;Jennifer A. Doudna

  • Two distinct RNase activities of CRISPR-C2c2 enable guide-RNA processing and RNA detection

    Alexandra East-Seletsky;Mitchell R. O’Connell;Spencer C. Knight;David Burstein

  • A three-dimensional view of the molecular machinery of RNA interference

    Martin Jinek;Jennifer A. Doudna

Frequent Co-Authors

Martin Jinek
Martin Jinek University of Zurich
Eva Nogales
Eva Nogales University of California, Berkeley
Jillian F. Banfield
Jillian F. Banfield University of California, Berkeley
Jamie H. D. Cate
Jamie H. D. Cate University of California, Berkeley
Blake Wiedenheft
Blake Wiedenheft Montana State University
Wendell A. Lim
Wendell A. Lim University of California, San Francisco
Lei S. Qi
Lei S. Qi Stanford University
Adam P. Arkin
Adam P. Arkin Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
David R. Liu
David R. Liu Broad Institute
Emmanuelle Charpentier
Emmanuelle Charpentier Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring Genetics in the USA can lead to diverse career opportunities, both in research and healthcare. Many students interested in genetics may also consider related fields like nursing, public health, or healthcare administration. Flexible online programs now make it easier than ever to pursue these pathways, balancing study with work or personal commitments.

For example, aspiring nurses can benefit from choosing a nursing program that doesn't require teas or HESI exams, making entry into the profession more accessible. Some learners prefer to accelerate their education, enrolling in fast track lpn programs online to quickly join the workforce.

For those interested in healthcare leadership, there are many affordable mha online programs that offer a flexible path into healthcare management roles. If you’re aiming for advanced academic or educational positions in healthcare, you might explore earning a phd nursing education online, which can lead to influential roles in research or teaching.

Each of these options can complement your genetics background, broadening your career prospects in the modern healthcare landscape.

Best Scientists Citing Jennifer A. Doudna

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles