I am currently an independent MIT McGovern Fellow at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT where I work on next generation genome editing tools and co-direct the Abudayyeh-Gootenberg Lab. Previously, I was an MD/PhD student at Harvard Medical School/Harvard-MIT Health, Sciences, and Technology program and completed my PhD in Feng Zhang’s lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in 2018. As an MD/PhD student in Feng Zhang’s lab, I worked on the novel discovery of CRISPR enzymes and RNA biology. Our research draws from novel computational techniques, CRISPR biology, microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology to create therapeutic/diagnostic biotechnologies.
Brief bio
Before joining the Harvard-MIT MD/PhD program, I completed a S.B. in mechanical engineering and biological engineering at MIT as a Henry Ford II Scholar (the top graduating engineering student with perfect 5.0 GPA) and a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. As a graduate student, I have had multiple fellowship positions, including Friends of the McGovern Institute Fellowship, Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, and the NIH F30 National Research Service Award. My doctoral research was advised by Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and focused on the discovery of novel CRISPR enzymes for applications in genome editing, therapeutics, and diagnostics. This work has been recognized by TEDMED and Forbes 30 under 30. I am currently on leave from Harvard Medical School while I pursue independent research directions.
Read more about me here.
Omar Abudayyeh 