Emmanuelle Charpentier
Microbiologist and geneticist
Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens
Germany
Emmanuelle Charpentier is a researcher affiliated with Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens. This profile connects verified scholarly identity information and publication records from OpenAlex and DOI sources. Research areas include CRISPR and Genetic Engineering, RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology, Bacteriophages and microbial interactions, Streptococcal Infections and Treatments.
Read biography ↓Biography, research & contributions
Research background
Emmanuelle Charpentier is a microbiologist whose research examines pathogenic bacteria and RNA-mediated regulation. She received her doctorate from the Institut Pasteur in 1995. Her research on bacterial defence mechanisms developed into a collaboration with Jennifer Doudna that was recognised by the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
From bacterial RNA to genome editing
Charpentier’s research in Streptococcus pyogenes identified tracrRNA, a component needed in its CRISPR-Cas9 system. This discovery, published in 2011, helped explain how the system processes its guide RNAs. Collaboration with Doudna then brought microbiological and biochemical approaches together to investigate and simplify the DNA-cutting mechanism.
Selected publication
The 2012 Science paper by Martin Jinek and colleagues included both Charpentier and Doudna. It demonstrated programmable RNA-guided DNA cleavage and described a simplified guide arrangement. Readers can follow the author list and experimental account to understand the collaborative nature of the work. The paper is a starting point for the method, not a complete history of all CRISPR research.
Source: Science: programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA endonuclease ↗
Scientific significance and reading route
The contribution made a natural bacterial defence mechanism more generally usable as a research tool. Begin with the Nobel facts page for a short explanation, then read the original paper for the experimental evidence. The distinction between discovering a biological mechanism and adapting it into a technology is particularly useful when following Charpentier’s research.
At a glance
- Full name
- Emmanuelle Charpentier
- Fields
- Biology, Genetics, Microbiology
- ORCID
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0254-0778
- OpenAlex ID
- A5074743574
Research interests
- Microbiology
- Pathogenic bacteria
- Regulatory RNA
- CRISPR-Cas9
Research topics
Education
- 1995 — PhD, Institut Pasteur, Paris
Selected research & further reading
A curated reading list, not a ranking by citation count. References use DOI metadata, matching public scholarly records or authoritative lecture sources.
- A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity ↗2012 · ScienceDOI: 10.1126/science.1225829
Citation & publication trends
Annual counts are not yet available from a verified author record. Explore the research guide above for the work itself; publication and citation totals depend on database coverage.
Most-cited linked publications
- An updated evolutionary classification of CRISPR–Cas systems including rare variants2025-11-06 · Nature Microbiology81record citations
- Streptococcus pyogenes EVs induce the alternative inflammasome via caspase-4/-5 in human monocytes2025-09-08 · EMBO Reports4record citations
- Data from: Stress-induced ribosome degradation in Bacillus subtilis is mediated by the RNase Y-specificity complex2026-01-29 · Max Planck Digital Library0record citations
- Insights into spacer acquisition of the type V-A CRISPR–Cas system of Francisella novicida U1122026-03-19 · Nucleic Acids Research0record citations
- Microbiota-induced fatty acid synthesis facilitates intestinal infection and immune-mediated damage in Drosophila2026-04-15 · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)0record citations
Recent linked publications
- Input data for the figures of "The cost-benefit trade-off of peritrichous flagellation in bacteria"2026-08-20 · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Simulated trajectories of Supplementary Figure 4 for "The cost-benefit trade-off of peritrichous flagellation in bacteria"2026-08-20 · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Simulated trajectories of Supplementary Figure 4 for "The cost-benefit trade-off of peritrichous flagellation in bacteria"2026-08-20 · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- The cost-benefit trade-off of peritrichous flagellation in bacteria2026-08-20 · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Input data for the figures of "The cost-benefit trade-off of peritrichous flagellation in bacteria"2026-08-20 · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Journals published in
Related publishers
Institutions
Current verified institution
No verified record links added yet.
Previous institutions
No verified record links added yet.
Awards & honors
- 2020 — Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Jennifer Doudna
Career timeline
- 1995 — PhD, Institut Pasteur, Paris
- 2020 — Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Jennifer Doudna
Co-authors
Education & career institution links
No verified record links added yet.
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Sign in to claim this profileSources & data information
Editorial review: 2026-10-03 · Last data update: 2026-10-03
- https://openalex.org/A5074743574
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/press-release/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/popular-information/CHANCE/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22745249/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/charpentier/facts/
Unknown values are left blank. Linked publications may be a subset of total works. Identity verification, data retrieval and profile ownership are separate checks.
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