Dr. Jennifer Doudna Talks Editing Genes and Shredding Cancer

Nobel Prize–winning biochemist Dr. Jennifer Doudna is cracking the code of nature to address big issues, using the tiniest parts of us.

On Tuesday, UCSB Arts & Lectures and the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara will host Doudna for a deep dive into “CRISPR Gene Editing and the Future of Human Health” at the Granada Theatre.

CRISPR is a genome-editing technology that is ripe for new discoveries and innovative applications, including a gene therapy recently approved by the FDA to treat sickle cell disease. It also holds potential for reducing climate-change-causing emissions from cattle or even “shredding” cancer by destroying tumor cells.

And more CRISPR therapies are going into clinical trials every year, said Doudna, whose role in co-developing the technology won her the Nobel Prize in 2020.

“CRISPR has the potential to revolutionize the way we address every category of disease, from rare conditions to our most prevalent disorders,” she said. 

For example, “Cancer shredding” is a new method developed by Doudna’s lab and colleagues at the Gladstone Institutes and the Innovative Genomics Institute to treat a historically difficult-to-treat brain cancer called primary glioblastoma. 

Instead of using CRISPR to edit a gene, they target DNA sequences in recurrent tumor cells and use the “cutting power of CRISPR to rapidly shred the genome in just these harmful cells,” the UC Berkeley biochemist explained. It may even be used to treat other cancers down the line. 

Appropriately, her lecture on Tuesday will help the Cancer Foundation celebrate its 75th year in the community as the fundraising partner for the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. 

Doudna will also sit down for a private discussion with Cancer Center doctors and staff, giving them the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the work that she’s doing. 

“Research is a big part of what they do,” explained Lori Willis, the executive director of the Cancer Foundation. “They have a group of individuals who are excited to get to know her. It’s cool for the younger generation to put a face to an incredible person doing some great stuff in the world.” 

As these revolutionary medicines make their way from the lab bench and into the clinic, Doudna said they “must continue to emphasize safety and accessibility.”

“It has been my mission for more than a decade to ensure we, as a field, are transparent with the public about how CRISPR works, the challenges and risks we must take a thoughtful approach to, and ultimately how it can impact our health for the better,” she said. 

Among those challenges and risks is the ethical question of using genome editing for treatment versus enhancement, and who gets to make those decisions. Safety is another, revolving around only targeting non-reproductive cells, to avoid passing modified DNA to future generations with unintended consequences.

“Ensuring access for people who need the technology most over people who can afford a very expensive therapy is also a major ethical issue that I think about quite a lot,” Doudna said. “An ongoing discussion between researchers, industry leaders, and the public about these ethical implications is key to ensuring an approach that will benefit our entire society.”

The public can learn more about Dr. Jennifer Doudna and her gene-editing technology by attending the Arts & Lectures event at the Granada Theatre (1214 State St.) on Tuesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase here.