Jennifer Doudna on Medical Innovation | The Atlantic Festival 2025
Jennifer Doudna on CRISPR’s Next Frontier: From Rare Disease Breakthroughs to Agricultural Innovation
Nobel Laureate discusses groundbreaking baby KJ case, sickle cell progress, and the future of gene editing at The Atlantic Festival 2025
CRISPR pioneer and Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna joined The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg on stage to discuss the most significant advances in gene editing — from a breakthrough rare disease case to the technology’s expanding role in agriculture and food systems.
The Baby KJ Breakthrough
Doudna highlighted an extraordinary case from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: a baby born with a rare metabolic disease that made it impossible to digest protein received a personalized CRISPR therapy designed, manufactured, and FDA-approved in real time. Nine months later, the child is home with his family and appears normal. The case demonstrates CRISPR’s potential for rapid, individualized treatment of rare diseases.
Sickle Cell and the Cost Challenge
With dozens of patients now treated with the FDA-approved CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease — including Victoria Gray, the first U.S. patient — Doudna addressed the critical barrier: cost. At roughly $2 million per patient, these one-time curative treatments remain inaccessible to most who could benefit. She emphasized her daily motivation to change this through continued technological advances and creating pipelines that make therapies more affordable and available globally.
Agricultural Applications Gaining Ground
Beyond medicine, CRISPR is delivering tangible agricultural results. Drought-resistant rice varieties are already deployed in South America, and enhanced tomatoes with improved nutritional value are on the market. Doudna pointed to CRISPR’s precision as key to its agricultural promise — enabling multiple targeted genetic changes that increase productivity and resilience without additional nutrient requirements.
Regulation, Ethics, and Scientific Integrity
On germline editing, Doudna maintained her measured stance: while future applications may be possible, current knowledge gaps about CRISPR’s effects in eggs and embryos make it unsafe for any indication today. She called for continued transparent discussion and regulatory frameworks to be ready when the technology advances.
Addressing widespread scientific skepticism, she defended vaccination’s proven track record and pushed back on dangerous misinformation. On NIH funding cuts, she emphasized the return on investment: “For every dollar of NIH funding, we get $50 back.” She shared her own origin story — an NIH training grant of $8,600 enabled her PhD when her family couldn’t afford it.
Looking Ahead
Doudna outlined her vision for the next 5-10 years: a clear pipeline from rare disease diagnosis to personalized therapy delivery at accessible cost. Her new San Francisco center aims to pioneer this model and scale it across medical centers nationwide.
