Innovative Genomics Institute

The Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) is a nonprofit scientific research institute founded by Nobel laureate and CRISPR gene editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna and biophysicist Jonathan Weissman.^[1][2] The institute is based at the University of California, Berkeley, and also has member researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, UC Davis, UCLA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Gladstone Institutes, and other collaborating research institutions. The IGI focuses on developing real-world applications of genome editing to address problems in human health, agriculture and climate change.^[3][4]

In addition to Doudna, current IGI directors and investigators include Jillian Banfield, who first introduced Doudna to CRISPR systems in bacteria in 2006,^[5][6] Fyodor Urnov, who coined the term "genome editing" with colleagues in 2005,^[7][8] as well as Alex Marson, Brian Staskawicz, and Pamela Ronald.^[9][10] The current executive director is Bradley Ringeisen, former director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA, who joined the IGI in 2020.^[11][12]