One evening at the end of August, Martin Jinek was at music school with his six-year-old son when he received a very unexpected phone call. On the other end was Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation, congratulating him on being awarded the Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize 2026 for his contribution to the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool. Jinek described the moment as both gratifying and humbling: ‘What an honour.’
The prize is often referred to as the ‘Swiss Nobel Prize’, which reminded Jinek of another memorable phone call in October 2020, when he was the one calling. He had just learned that Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They, too, were honoured for their research on the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool. Jinek was delighted by the news: A few years earlier, as a postdoctoral researcher in Doudna’s laboratory, he had made a major contribution to the landmark publication by the two research groups that laid the foundation for the genome-editing tool also known as ‘genetic scissors’. It was late in the evening in Berkeley and when he called Doudna; she had just got out of bed to answer the phone from a journalist asking how she felt about having been awarded the Nobel Prize. ‘Who’s won it?’ she asked groggily, and was unable at first to take the journalist seriously.
A few years earlier, as a postdoctoral researcher in Jennifer Doudna’s laboratory, he had made a major contribution to the landmark publication by the two research groups that laid the foundation for the genome-editing tool also known as ‘genetic scissors’.
It was only when Jinek called to congratulate her shortly afterwards that she truly grasped the significance of the news. ‘Martin would never have called if it weren’t true,’ she later told the media, publicly acknowledging his important contribution to the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool. Together with Krzysztof Chylinski from Emmanuelle Charpentier’s research team, Jinek had served as co-first author when the researchers published their findings in 2012 in the landmark paper ‘A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity’.
In this study, Martin Jinek and his colleagues demonstrated how bacteria defend themselves against viruses using a sophisticated immune mechanism that cleaves viral DNA. The team managed to harness this bacterial defence system and transform it into a tool that can cleave and modify DNA at precisely selected target sites. The new method proved more precise, simpler, and more cost-effective than existing methods. This work laid the foundation for the technology now widely known as the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool.
The novel technology was enthusiastically embraced by the scientific community and rapidly became an important tool in biotechnology and, more recently, in gene therapy. Since joining the University of Zurich in 2013, Jinek has devoted his research career to genome modification, known in technical terms as genome editing. His goal is to gain a deeper understanding of genome-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 and to further improve them.
English opened up a world of opportunities
Curiosity and a desire to understand things in meticulous detail have characterised Martin Jinek since childhood. Born in 1979 in what was then communist Czechoslovakia, he was exposed early on to two distinct worlds: His mother was a paediatrician, while his father was an electrical engineer, making medicine and technology a natural part of the family’s everyday environment. His parents’ experiences also shaped his future trajectory. In the late 1960s, his father had travelled to the United Kingdom as a student, an experience that left a lasting impression on him. In the twenty years that followed, however, such travel was no longer possible because of the country’s isolation from the West. His parents nevertheless considered it important that their son have the opportunity to learn English. As a result, Jinek began attending extracurricular English classes at the tender age of seven: ‘I was by far the youngest person in the group,’ he recalls with a laugh.
His parents’ experiences also shaped his future trajectory.
Learning languages and, above all, immersing himself in the world of the natural sciences, Jinek’s thirst for knowledge remained undiminished throughout his school years. He joined the school’s chemistry club and took part in a variety of science competitions. Following the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the opening of the borders, another new opportunity arose: His strong command of English allowed him to apply for an exchange year scholarship in the United Kingdom.
Summer holidays spent in the laboratory
One year turned into two. Recognising his gift for the natural sciences, his teachers encouraged him to apply for a scholarship to attend university in the United Kingdom. He subsequently enrolled in the Natural Sciences programme at the prestigious Trinity College, University of Cambridge, specialising in chemistry. Along the way, he abandoned his original plan of following in the footsteps of his mother and several other family members who had pursued careers in medicine. ‘I wanted to understand the fundamental principles: What is the world made of? How is it put together? My interest in the chemistry of life has never waned,’ he explains.
‘I wanted to understand the fundamental principles.’
Alongside the predominantly theoretical chemistry curriculum in Cambridge, Jinek used his summer vacations to gain practical laboratory experience. This led him to the laboratory of Kyoshi Nagai, whose enthusiasm for structural biology proved infectious. This field investigates the structure of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, including DNA. ‘Anyone seeking to understand the function of these molecules must first understand their structure, namely the three-dimensional arrangement of the atoms from which they are composed. This structure plays a decisive role in determining what molecules do,’ says the biochemist.
Nagai’s research focused primarily on ribonucleic acid (RNA), and he passed this fascination on to his eager student. ‘RNA, which is found in the cells of all living organisms, is incredibly versatile. It can carry information, catalyse chemical reactions, and regulate a wide range of biological processes within cells,’ Jinek enthusiastically explains.
Seizing opportunities
RNA research received fresh momentum in the late 1990s as advances in microscopy and genome sequencing opened up new avenues of investigation. It was discovered that RNA molecules can inhibit the function of other RNA molecules by preventing them from directing the translation of genetic information into proteins. It became increasingly clear that DNA alone does not govern the processes taking place within our bodies.
‘Throughout my career, I have tried to follow both the science that fascinates me and the people who are working in these fields.’
By this time, Martin Jinek was pursuing his doctoral research in the laboratory of Elena Conti at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg. Conti’s research also focused on RNA. From his doctoral supervisor, Jinek learned the importance of rigorous scientific thinking and a systematic approach to experimental research. Conti became another formative influence on his future scientific career. ‘Throughout my career, I have tried to follow both the science that fascinates me and the people who are working in these fields,’ Jinek says. As a result, he repeatedly seized opportunities as they arose and allowed himself to be inspired by others. One such opportunity came during his doctoral studies, when he attended a guest lecture by Jennifer Doudna: ‘I was very interested in her descriptions of the research being carried out in her laboratory in California.’ That lecture prompted him to apply for a postdoctoral position with Doudna at the University of California, Berkeley, where he hoped to deepen his expertise in the biochemistry and structural biology of RNA.
His application was successful, and in 2007 the 27-year-old moved to the West Coast of the United States to take up his position. It was a time when researchers had just reported the discovery that certain bacteria possess a molecular tool capable of destroying the genetic material of invading viruses. ‘However, no one knew exactly how it worked. Doudna’s team immediately became interested in the topic because the researchers suspected that RNA played a crucial role in this process as well,’ Jinek recalls.
On the cusp of a major breakthrough
Initially, Jinek devoted his research in Berkeley to other questions in RNA biology but also shared his extensive expertise in structural biology with colleagues working on CRISPR-related projects, thus becoming increasingly involved in the field. He eventually initiated his own research project on the subject. At the time, it was already known that bacteria possess various defence systems, known as CRISPR systems. Jinek demonstrated that, in one such system, the protein Cas9 functions as a DNA-cleaving protein, or nuclease.
As he and his colleagues subsequently demonstrated, this process requires a combination of Cas9 and several RNA molecules. One of these, the guide RNA, directs Cas9 to the appropriate site within the genome of the viruses. Jinek systematically constructed different guide RNAs to direct the molecular scissors to different sites in the DNA. The approach proved successful. The researchers also managed to merge the required RNA components into a single chimeric RNA molecule.
As the project progressed, it became increasingly clear that Jinek and his colleagues were on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Suddenly, the work was no longer solely about fundamental research and understanding a bacterial defence system. The researchers realised that they had discovered, and could further develop, a tool with broad applications in biotechnology and even gene therapy, enabling targeted genetic modifications.
‘I still remember the day I presented my research findings in Jennifer Doudna’s office.’
‘I still remember the day I presented my research findings in Jennifer Doudna’s office,’ Jinek recalls. ‘I said to her: I believe CRISPR-Cas9 can, in principle, be used for genome editing. It can be programmed to determine which DNA segments are to be cleaved.’ She stared at him, immediately recognised the technology’s potential, and said: ‘Write everything down!’
Staying grounded
The resulting 2012 publication attracted widespread attention. Yet even in retrospect, Jinek remains remarkably level-headed: ‘It was an intense and extraordinary period,’ he says. ‘However, it was important to keep our feet on the ground: We still had a lot of work ahead of us, and there was so much that we did not yet understand.’ The research continued at full speed and once again proved successful. Following the publication, it took only a matter of months before Doudna’s team and research groups around the world were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in a variety of organisms.
For Martin Jinek, however, it was time to move on. His postdoctoral fellowship had come to an end, and the next stage of his career awaited: establishing his own research group. Europe beckoned. During his interview at the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Zurich, he immediately felt at ease with the team and sensed that his research would be welcomed there. In 2013, he joined the university as an assistant professor and established his own laboratory on the Irchel Campus. He was promoted to full professor in 2024.
He takes advantage of the natural surroundings not only for walks but also, on occasion, by joining members of his research group for a run.
From his office on the outskirts of the city, he looks out towards the forest on the Zurichberg. For the past two years, he has lived with his wife and their two children on the edge of the forest, just a few minutes’ walk from the campus. He takes advantage of the natural surroundings not only for walks but also, on occasion, by joining members of his research group for a run. Another way of clearing his mind is to pick up the bass guitar propped up in the corner of his office, a hobby he first took up as a teenager. These days, however, work and family leave him little time to play. Scientific discussions at home are equally rare for lack of time, despite the fact that there would be no shortage of opportunities: his wife is also a professor in this field.
The next generations
CRISPR-Cas9 is no longer merely a theoretical tool of biotechnology. Researchers are now exploring its use in developing disease-resistant crop varieties for agriculture. In medicine, the technology has already entered clinical practice. The first CRISPR-based gene therapy was approved in 2023 and is now used to treat beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease, two inherited disorders affecting the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin in red blood cells. CRISPR is also being used in clinical studies to genetically engineer CAR-T cells for cancer immunotherapy. At present, Jinek estimates that around 100 clinical trials are investigating the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool for a variety of diseases.
Yet the CRISPR method also has its limitations. One of these is its limited specificity: like earlier forms of gene therapy, CRISPR-Cas9 can occasionally cleave DNA at unintended sites. This may give rise to so-called off-target effects, which can pose risks to human health. In addition, the technology is still relatively young, and long-term clinical experience will be needed to fully assess its safety and efficacy.
‘The world-class research infrastructure at the University of Zurich is what makes this work possible.’
Jinek and his twelve-member research team aim to gain an even deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying genome editing and to further develop genome-editing tools for medical applications. In their six laboratories, the researchers cultivate bacteria, isolate proteins and RNA, investigate their structure using cryo-electron microscopy, and employ genome sequencing to determine whether and how genome-editing tools cleave and modify DNA in their experiments. ‘The world-class research infrastructure at the University of Zurich is what makes this work possible,’ says Jinek.
Nowadays, the focus extends well beyond CRISPR-Cas9. Jinek’s team is scanning bacterial genomes for additional defence systems and has already identified the Cas12 protein as another genome-editing tool. Researchers are also developing new CRISPR-based technologies that operate according to different principles. ‘They could be described as second-generation CRISPR technologies,’ says Jinek. These include base editing and prime editing (see box). Another current focus of the team’s research is the question of how to move beyond editing small DNA segments and instead introduce larger-scale modifications to the genome. ‘Such third-generation genome-editing tools could be particularly important for treating diseases caused by multiple genetic mutations,’ says Jinek.
Fortune favours the prepared mind
Jinek’s group works closely with several research teams from the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, and other universities and hospitals in Switzerland and globally. The team contributes its expertise to these collaborative endeavours, evaluates and optimises genome-editing systems for specific applications, and provides essential research components, including proteins and RNA molecules, for experimental and clinical studies.
Over the years, Martin Jinek has received numerous awards in recognition of his research. At the same time, he has undergone a transition in his professional role. As a professor, he no longer spends his days at the laboratory bench conducting experiments himself; that responsibility now belongs to his team. Instead, he serves as an organiser, leader, and mentor. When selecting young researchers for his group, he looks for the same qualities that have shaped his own career: curiosity, an eagerness to learn, team spirit. And when he reflects on his own scientific journey, how much of it does he attribute to chance? How much luck was involved in being in Berkeley at precisely the right moment to participate in research that ultimately led to a Nobel Prize? ‘I was certainly in the right place at the right time to witness something truly amazing,’ he says. But for him it is also clear that it wasn’t just luck. Fortune favours the prepared mind: ‘Underlying all of this is the fact that I was fortunate enough to have received an excellent education, to have had outstanding mentors, and to have spent years working hard to gain progressive insights.
‘I was certainly in the right place at the right time to witness something truly amazing,’
How will the efforts of CRISPR researchers around the world ultimately pay off? Will it one day be possible to cure all genetic diseases? ‘The potential is enormous. CRISPR-based gene therapies will open up entirely new treatment prospects,’ says Jinek. In addition to inherited disorders and cancer, he sees promise in areas such as cell therapies for autoimmune diseases. CRISPR-based approaches could also be combined with stem-cell therapies.
At the same time, he cautions against overly high expectations. There are thousands of inherited disorders, most of them rare. Developing a gene therapy for each individual condition would be an enormous undertaking. Significant challenges also remain. For example, the CRISPR method does not work equally well in all cell types. Another crucial hurdle is delivering genome-editing tools to the correct cells. While this can already be achieved in the liver, many other organs remain far more difficult to target.
With great power comes great responsibility
Another challenge lies in reaching a societal consensus on how CRISPR should be used. ‘It is a powerful tool that comes with great responsibility,’ says Jinek. In 2018, a Chinese researcher announced that he had edited the genomes of human embryos, resulting in the birth of twin girls. The revelation sparked international criticism, and the project was brought to a halt. ‘At present, the risks are too great to justify genome editing of embryos or reproductive cells whose genetic changes would be passed on to future generations,” says Jinek, echoing both the position reflected in Swiss legislation and the prevailing view within the international scientific community. The World Health Organization and numerous scientific advisory bodies have likewise advised strongly against such applications. However, there are still no universally binding rules governing their use worldwide.
Even so, Jinek remains pragmatic on this issue as well. He considers fears that CRISPR might one day be used to create so-called designer babies to be exaggerated. ‘Performing genome editing requires considerable expertise and specialised infrastructure,’ he says. ‘Moreover, public acceptance of such an application of the technology would be limited.’
‘We are only starting to understand bacteria as living organisms.’
His focus is on making the meaningful application of genome-editing tools even more effective and safer, particularly for medical applications in inherited diseases and cancer, as well as for fundamental research. ‘Fundamental research was essential in ultimately enabling the development of a groundbreaking technology such as CRISPR-Cas9. This kind of research requires time and, accordingly, sustained long-term funding. This is crucial for future innovation,’ explains Jinek. He is therefore especially pleased to receive the Marcel Benoist Prize in recognition of both his past achievements and his ongoing research. The work originally set out simply to understand how bacteria function. Yet that research has already given rise to key applications, thanks to the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool. And still, as Jinek points out, there is much left to discover. ‘We are only starting to understand bacteria as living organisms. I am intrigued to find out what other surprises they still have in store for us.’
Text: Adrian Ritter
Edited by: SilberMedia GmbH
Translation: Central Language Services, Federal Chancellery
CRISPR-Cas: How bacteria defend themselves
Bacteria do not possess an immune system like that of animals and humans. However, they do have a form of adaptive immunity, of which CRISPR-Cas9 is the best-known example. When a virus invades a bacterial cell, it attempts to replicate, which can potentially kill the bacterium in the process. The bacterium defends itself by storing short fragments of the viral DNA in a kind of ‘library’. From these stored sequences, it generates guide RNAs that contain genetic information derived from the virus. If the same virus attacks again, the bacterium can recognise it through this molecular library. The guide RNA then directs the bacterial Cas9 proteins to the corresponding target site in the viral genome, where they cleave the viral DNA, thereby disabling and ultimately destroying the virus.
CRISPR-Cas in gene therapy
Gene therapies existed long before the advent of CRISPR-Cas. Today, around a dozen such therapies have been approved, including treatments for retinal disorders. Most of these therapies work by introducing a functional copy of a gene into cells without replacing or disrupting the defective gene itself. However, the inserted DNA sequence does not always integrate at the intended location in the genome, which can interfere with the function of neighbouring genes. CRISPR offers a more precise and straightforward approach. The technology enables targeted modifications at specific DNA target sites. Moreover, instead of designing a custom protein for each target DNA sequence, a corresponding guide RNA can be created instead to direct the Cas9 nuclease.
In principle, gene therapies follow two main strategies: The first is to disable a harmful gene function by removing or disrupting a DNA segment, a process known as knockout. The cell attempts to repair the resulting DNA break, but the repair is often imperfect, rendering the gene non-functional. The second strategy is to restore a missing gene function by inserting a segment of donor DNA into the genome, a process known as a knockin.
The latest gene therapies operate according to different principles once again. In Base Editing, individual DNA bases are chemically converted. Rather than acting like molecular scissors, the process resembles writing with a pencil, selectively rewriting DNA at specific locations. In Prime Editing, a specialised guide RNA specifies the desired change, which is then incorporated into the DNA with the aid of an attached enzyme, much like the “find and replace” function in a word processor. Alongside these second-generation genome-editing tools, researchers are already exploring third-generation technologies that promise even more far-reaching approaches to genome editing.
Sources d’information sur les recherches de Martin Jinek
- Pelea O, Tálas A, Carrera JF, Mathis N, van de Venn L, Yeh CD, Kulcsár PI, Marquart KF, Weber Y, Gerecke SE, Harvey-Seutcheu IF, Mailänder D, Pfleiderer MM, Chanez C, Corn JE, Schwank G, Jinek M. Programmable genome editing in human cells using RNA-guided bridge recombinases. Science (2026) doi:10.1126/science.adz1884. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz1884
- Pacesa M, Pelea O, Jinek M. Past, present, and future of CRISPR genome editing technologies. Cell (2024) 187:1076–1100. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00111-9
- Pacesa M, Lin C-H, Cléry A, Saha A, Arantes PR, Bargsten K, Irby MJ, Allain FH, Palermo G, Cameron P, Donohoue PD, Jinek M. Structural basis for Cas9 off-target activity. Cell (2022) 185:4067–4081. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)01198-9
- Pacesa M, Loeff L, Querques I, Muckenfuss LM, Sawicka M, Jinek M. R-loop formation and conformational activation mechanisms of Cas9. Nature (2022) 609:191–196. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05114-0
- Donohoue PD∗, Pacesa M∗, Lau E, Vidal B, Irby MJ, Nyer DB, Rotstein T, Banh L, Toh MS, Gibson J, Kohrs B, Baek K, Owen ALG, Slorach EM, van Overbeek M, Fuller CK, May AP, Jinek M, Cameron P. Conformational control of Cas9 by CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA guides mitigates off-target activity in T cells. Mol Cell (2021) 81:3637–3649. https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(21)00613-4
- Anders C, Niewoehner O, Duerst A, Jinek M. Structural basis of PAM-dependent target DNA recognition by the Cas9 endonuclease. Nature (2014) 513:569–573. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13579
- Jinek M*, Chylinski K*, Fonfara I, Hauer M, Doudna JA, Charpentier E. A programmable dual-RNA-guided endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity. Science (2012), 337:816-21. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1225829