Patrick Hsu
Patrick D. Hsu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patrick David Hsu June 25, 1993 |
| Citizenship |  United States |
| Education |
|
| Known for | CRISPR-based genome editing, synthetic biology, gene therapy |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bioengineering, CRISPR, Gene editing, Synthetic biology |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Arc Institute |
| Thesis | Genome engineering and RNA-guided systems (2016) |
| Doctoral advisor | Feng Zhang |
| Website | Hsu Lab |
Patrick D. Hsu (born June 25, 1993) is an American bioengineer and molecular biologist specializing in CRISPR, genome engineering, synthetic biology, and gene therapy. He is an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and a co-founder of Arc Institute, a research organization focused on accelerating biomedical discovery.[1]
Biography
[edit]Hsu earned his bachelor's degree in bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He then completed his PhD at Harvard University under the mentorship of Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute, where he contributed to early developments in CRISPR-based gene-editing technologies.[2]
After completing his doctorate, Hsu worked as a principal investigator at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he developed synthetic biology tools for controlling gene expression and cellular behavior.[3] He later joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where his lab focuses on engineering CRISPR-based technologies for gene editing and therapeutic applications.[4]
Along with Stanford University professor Silvana Konermann and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Hsu is a co-founder of Arc Institute, an independent research organization focused on accelerating discoveries in biology and medicine.[5]
Achievements and recognition
[edit]Hsu has received several prestigious awards recognizing his contributions to CRISPR and synthetic biology. He was named to the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 list in 2017 for his pioneering work in genome engineering.[6] He was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science in 2018 for his contributions to CRISPR technology.[7]
Hsu has also been featured in The Economist for discussions on the future of gene editing.[8] His TED Talk on genome engineering has contributed to the public discourse on CRISPR,[9] and his work played a role in CRISPR being named Breakthrough of the Year. He recently gave an interview with Sequoia Capital on 'Building an App Store for Biology with AI'.[10]
Research
[edit]Hsu's research focuses on advancing CRISPR genome-editing technology, improving specificity, efficiency, and therapeutic applications. His work has contributed to:
- AI-driven gene editing, where computational models are used to design new gene editors that surpass naturally occurring enzymes.[11]
- CRISPR-based RNA-targeting technologies, advancing DNA and RNA editing.[12]
- Bridge RNAs for programmable recombination, which allow for precise DNA modifications without traditional genome-editing tools.[13]
- "Jumping gene" enzymes, which enable DNA insertion and deletion without using CRISPR, a novel approach published in Nature in 2024.[14]
- Evo enables genome-scale sequence modeling and design across molecular contexts.[15]
In his current endeavors, he is interested in using artificial intelligence (AI) to advance biology.[16] This includes using AI to advance Cell-based models.[17][18]
Commercial interests
[edit]Based on his gene insertion technology, Hsu raised 85M for a startup aimed to develop gene therapies.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ "Hsu Lab at Arc Institute". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ Hsu, PD; Lander, ES; Zhang, F (2014). "Development and applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome engineering". Cell. 157 (6): 1262–1278. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.010. hdl:1721.1/111575.
- ^ "Patrick Hsu - Salk Institute". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Hsu Lab at Arc Institute". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Arc Institute - Patrick Hsu". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "MIT Technology Review - Innovators Under 35: Patrick Hsu". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 - Science". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Gene editing has put biological research on a new trajectory". The Economist. June 15, 2023.
- ^ "TED talk: Patrick Hsu". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ Arc Institute’s Patrick Hsu on Building an App Store for Biology with AI. YouTube. March 18, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
- ^ "'ChatGPT for CRISPR' Creates New Gene-Editing Tools". Nature. May 10, 2024.
- ^ Hsu, PD; Scott, DA; Weinstein, JA (2013). "DNA targeting specificity of RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases". Nature Biotechnology. 31 (9): 827–832. doi:10.1038/nbt.2647. PMC 3969858.
- ^ "Bridge RNAs direct programmable recombination of target and donor DNA". Nature. 630 (8018): 984–993. 2024. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07012-x.
- ^ "No CRISPR: Oddball 'Jumping Gene' Enzyme Edits Genomes". Nature. July 1, 2024.
- ^ Nguyen, Eric; Poli, Michael; Durrant, Matthew G.; Kang, Brian; Katrekar, Dhruva; Li, David B.; Bartie, Liam J.; Thomas, Armin W.; King, Samuel H.; Brixi, Garyk; Sullivan, Jeremy; Ng, Madelena Y.; Lewis, Ashley; Lou, Aaron; Ermon, Stefano; Baccus, Stephen A.; Hernandez-Boussard, Tina; Ré, Christopher; Hsu, Patrick D.; Hie, Brian L. (2024). "Sequence modeling and design from molecular to genome scale with Evo". Science. 386 (6723): eado9336. doi:10.1126/science.ado9336.
- ^ Arc Institute’s Patrick Hsu on Building an App Store for Biology with AI. YouTube. March 18, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
- ^ No Priors Ep. 1-3 With Vevo Therapeutics and the Arc Institute. YouTube. February 25, 2025. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
- ^ Kanoh, Yutaka; Thon, Geneviève (2024). "The fork protection complex promotes parental histone recycling and epigenetic memory". Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.07.017.
- ^ Langreth, Robert (May 12, 2025). "Exclusive: Patrick Hsu's startup Stylus Medicine launches, looks beyond CRISPR for gene insertion tech". Endpoints News. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
