Patrick Hsu

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Patrick D. Hsu
Born
Patrick David Hsu

(1993-06-25) June 25, 1993 (age 32)
Citizenship United States
Education
Known forCRISPR-based genome editing, machine learning, synthetic biology, gene therapy
Awards
  • Rainwater Prize
  • MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35
  • Good Tech Award, New York Times
  • Future Perfect 50, Vox
  • Amgen Young Investigator Award
  • NIH Early Independence Award
Scientific career
FieldsBioengineering, Gene editing, Synthetic biology, Machine learning
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Arc Institute
Thesis Genome engineering and RNA-guided systems  (2014)
Doctoral advisorFeng Zhang
WebsiteHsu Lab

Patrick D. Hsu (born June 25, 1993) is an American bioengineer, entrepreneur, and investor specializing in CRISPR, machine learning, synthetic biology, and gene therapy. He is an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and a co-founder of Arc Institute, a research organization focused on accelerating biomedical discovery.[1]

Biography

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Hsu earned his bachelor's degree in bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He then completed his PhD at Harvard University under the mentorship of Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he worked on early CRISPR-based gene-editing technologies, including one of the first demonstrations of Cas9 human genome engineering.[2][3][4][5]

After completing his doctorate at age 21,[6] Hsu led early stage discovery projects at Editas Medicine.[5][7] At 23, he established his independent research group as a Salk Fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he developed CRISPR-Cas13 systems for transcriptome engineering.[8] He later joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where his lab focuses on AI foundation models for biology and developing gene editing technologies.[1] His research has over 65,000 citations, according to Google Scholar.[9]

In 2020, he helped start Fast Grants to provide funding to scientists working on research projects that could help with the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with Stanford University professor Silvana Konermann and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Hsu is a co-founder of Arc Institute, a nonprofit research organization focused on accelerating discoveries in biology and medicine.[10]

Achievements and recognition

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Hsu was named to the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 list in 2017.[11] He was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science in 2015 for his contributions to CRISPR technology.[12] His lab's discovery of programmable recombinases was named among the 5 Important Medical Breakthroughs of 2024 by Forbes,[13] and genomic language models developed by Arc scientists were named one of The Most Important Breakthroughs of 2024 by The Atlantic.[14]

Research

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Hsu's research focuses on using artificial intelligence (AI) to advance biology[15] as well as the development of genome editing technologies such as recombinases and CRISPR. This includes using AI to advance cell-based models.[16] His work has contributed to:

  • DNA foundation models that enable biological sequence modeling and design across molecular contexts and modalities, published on the cover of Science in November 2024.[17]
  • AI-driven gene editing, where computational models are used to design new gene editors that surpass naturally occurring enzymes.[18]
  • Bridge RNAs for programmable recombination, which allow for precise DNA modifications without traditional genome-editing tools.[19] In 2025, his research group reported in Science the ability to manipulate up to 1 million bases of the human genome.[20]
  • "Jumping gene" enzymes, which enable DNA insertion and deletion without using CRISPR, a novel approach published in Nature in 2024.[21]
  • CRISPR-based DNA and RNA-targeting technologies, establishing widely used tools for genome editing.[22][23]

Commercial interests

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Hsu is a co-founder of Stylus Medicine, a biotechnology company that raised $85 million in 2025 to commercialize gene insertion technology developed in his lab,[24] and of Terrain Biosciences, a startup leveraging AI models and technologies for designing and manufacturing RNA.[25]

Since September 2025, Hsu has been a Venture Partner with Thrive Capital.[26][27]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hsu Lab at Arc Institute". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  2. ^ Cong, Le; Ran, F. Ann; Cox, David; Lin, Shuailiang; Barretto, Robert; Habib, Naomi; Hsu, Patrick D.; Wu, Xuebing; Jiang, Wenyan; Marraffini, Luciano A.; Zhang, Feng (February 15, 2013). "Multiplex Genome Engineering Using CRISPR/Cas Systems". Science. 339 (6121): 819–823. doi:10.1126/science.1231143. PMC 3795411. PMID 23287718.
  3. ^ Hsu, Patrick D.; Scott, David A.; Weinstein, Joshua A.; Ran, F. Ann; Konermann, Silvana; Agarwala, Vineeta; Li, Yinqing; Fine, Eli J.; Wu, Xuebing; Shalem, Ophir; Cradick, Thomas J.; Marraffini, Luciano A.; Bao, Gang; Zhang, Feng (September 2013). "DNA targeting specificity of RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases". Nature Biotechnology. 31 (9): 827–832. doi:10.1038/nbt.2647. ISSN 1546-1696. PMC 3969858.
  4. ^ Hsu, PD; Lander, ES; Zhang, F (2014). "Development and applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome engineering". Cell. 157 (6): 1262–1278. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.010. hdl:1721.1/111575. PMC 4343198. PMID 24906146.
  5. ^ a b "Patrick Hsu Named One of Forbes 30 Scientists Under 30". Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology. January 12, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  6. ^ "Patrick Hsu: Pioneering Digital Biology at the Arc Institute". Crazy Stupid Tech. April 7, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  7. ^ Boyle, Alan (January 5, 2016). "Gates-backed Editas Medicine files for IPO, marking CRISPR gene-editing milestone". GeekWire. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  8. ^ "Patrick Hsu - Salk Institute". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  9. ^ "Patrick D. Hsu". scholar.google.com. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  10. ^ "Arc Institute - Patrick Hsu". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  11. ^ "MIT Technology Review - Innovators Under 35: Patrick Hsu". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  12. ^ "Patrick Hsu, 22 - 2015-01-05 - 2015 30 Under 30: Science". Forbes. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  13. ^ Eckhardt, Juergen. "5 Important Medical Breakthroughs Of 2024". Forbes. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  14. ^ Thompson, Derek (December 29, 2024). "The Most Important Breakthroughs of 2024". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  15. ^ Arc Institute's Patrick Hsu on Building an App Store for Biology with AI. YouTube. March 18, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  16. ^ No Priors Ep. 1-3 With Vevo Therapeutics and the Arc Institute. YouTube. February 25, 2025. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  17. ^ Nguyen, Eric; Poli, Michael; Durrant, Matthew G.; Kang, Brian; Katrekar, Dhruva; Li, David B.; Bartie, Liam J.; Thomas, Armin W.; King, Samuel H.; Brixi, Garyk; Sullivan, Jeremy; Ng, Madelena Y.; Lewis, Ashley; Lou, Aaron; Ermon, Stefano; Baccus, Stephen A.; Hernandez-Boussard, Tina; Ré, Christopher; Hsu, Patrick D.; Hie, Brian L. (2024). "Sequence modeling and design from molecular to genome scale with Evo". Science. 386 (6723) eado9336. Bibcode:2024Sci...386o9336N. doi:10.1126/science.ado9336. PMC 12057570. PMID 39541441.
  18. ^ Callaway, Ewen (May 10, 2024). "'ChatGPT for CRISPR' Creates New Gene-Editing Tools". Nature. 629 (8011): 272. Bibcode:2024Natur.629..272C. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-01243-w. PMID 38684833.
  19. ^ Durrant, Matthew G.; Perry, Nicholas T.; Pai, James J.; Jangid, Aditya R.; Athukoralage, Januka S.; Hiraizumi, Masahiro; McSpedon, John P.; Pawluk, April; Nishimasu, Hiroshi; Konermann, Silvana; Hsu, Patrick D. (June 2024). "Bridge RNAs direct programmable recombination of target and donor DNA". Nature. 630 (8018): 984–993. Bibcode:2024Natur.630..984D. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07552-4. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 11208160. PMID 38926615.
  20. ^ Perry, Nicholas T.; Bartie, Liam J.; Katrekar, Dhruva; Gonzalez, Gabriel A.; Durrant, Matthew G.; Pai, James J.; Fanton, Alison; Martins, Juliana Q.; Hiraizumi, Masahiro; Ricci-Tam, Chiara; Nishimasu, Hiroshi; Konermann, Silvana; Hsu, Patrick D. (September 25, 2025). "Megabase-scale human genome rearrangement with programmable bridge recombinases". Science. 0 (0) eadz0276. doi:10.1126/science.adz0276.
  21. ^ Ledford, Heidi (July 1, 2024). "No CRISPR: Oddball 'Jumping Gene' Enzyme Edits Genomes". Nature. 631 (8020): 470–471. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-02141-x. PMID 38937599.
  22. ^ Hsu, PD; Scott, DA; Weinstein, JA (2013). "DNA targeting specificity of RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases". Nature Biotechnology. 31 (9): 827–832. doi:10.1038/nbt.2647. PMC 3969858. PMID 23873081.
  23. ^ Konermann, Silvana; Lotfy, Peter; Brideau, Nicholas J.; Oki, Jennifer; Shokhirev, Maxim N.; Hsu, Patrick D. (April 2018). "Transcriptome Engineering with RNA-Targeting Type VI-D CRISPR Effectors". Cell. 173 (3): 665–676.e14. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.033. PMC 5910255. PMID 29551272.
  24. ^ Langreth, Robert (May 12, 2025). "Exclusive: Patrick Hsu's startup Stylus Medicine launches, looks beyond CRISPR for gene insertion tech". Endpoints News. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  25. ^ Terrain Biosciences. "Terrain Biosciences emerges from stealth to enable faster therapeutics and vaccine development with better RNA". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  26. ^ "Patrick Hsu LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  27. ^ "Patrick Hsu joins Thrive Capital as venture partner, continues Arc Institute | Alex Konrad posted on the topic | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
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