Emmanuelle Charpentier

Facts

Emmanuelle Charpentier preliminary portrait

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Bernhard Ludewig

Emmanuelle Charpentier
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020

Born: 11 December 1968, Juvisy-sur-Orge, France

Affiliation at the time of the award: Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany

Prize motivation: “for the development of a method for genome editing”

Prize share: 1/2

Work

The life processes of organisms are controlled by genes made up of sections of DNA. In 2012, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna developed a method for high-precision genome editing. They used the immune system of a bacterium, which disables viruses by cutting their DNA up with a type of genetic scissors. By extracting and simplifying the genetic scissors' molecular components, they made it generally applicable. The CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors can lead to new scientific discoveries, better crops and new weapons in the fight against cancer and genetic diseases.

To cite this section
MLA style: Emmanuelle Charpentier – Facts – 2020. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Mon. 4 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/charpentier/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Nobel Prizes 2024

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.