Biography:Patrick Hsu
Patrick D. Hsu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patrick David Hsu 1993 (age 32–33) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Citizenship | |
| Education |
|
| Known for | CRISPR, machine learning, synthetic biology, gene therapy |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bioengineering, Gene editing, Synthetic biology, Machine learning |
| Institutions | Stanford University, Arc Institute |
| Thesis | Genome engineering and RNA-guided systems (2014) |
| Doctoral advisor | Feng Zhang |
| Website | Hsu Lab |
Patrick D. Hsu (born 1993) is an American bioengineer, entrepreneur, and investor specializing in CRISPR, machine learning, synthetic biology, and gene therapy. He is an assistant professor of pathology at Stanford University and a co-founder of Arc Institute, a research organization focused on accelerating biomedical discovery.[1]
Biography
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] In 2020, he joined the bioengineering faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2026, he left UC Berkeley and joined the pathology department faculty at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His lab, located at Arc Institute, 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
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
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
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][28] Hsu's investments as an angel investor include Varda Space Industries and Cradle Bio.[29][30]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hsu Lab at Arc Institute". https://arclabs.org/hsulab.
- ↑ Cong, Le; Ran, F. Ann; Cox, David; Lin, Shuailiang; Barretto, Robert; Habib, Naomi; Hsu, Patrick D.; Wu, Xuebing et al. (2013-02-15). "Multiplex Genome Engineering Using CRISPR/Cas Systems". Science 339 (6121): 819–823. doi:10.1126/science.1231143. PMID 23287718. PMC 3795411. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1231143.
- ↑ Hsu, Patrick D.; Scott, David A.; Weinstein, Joshua A.; Ran, F. Ann; Konermann, Silvana; Agarwala, Vineeta; Li, Yinqing; Fine, Eli J. et al. (September 2013). "DNA targeting specificity of RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases" (in en). Nature Biotechnology 31 (9): 827–832. doi:10.1038/nbt.2647. ISSN 1546-1696. PMC 3969858. https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.2647.
- ↑ 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. PMID 24906146.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Patrick Hsu Named One of Forbes 30 Scientists Under 30" (in en-US). 2015-01-12. https://www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/news/patrick-hsu-named-one-of-forbes-30-scientists-under-30/.
- ↑ "Patrick Hsu: Pioneering Digital Biology at the Arc Institute" (in en-US). 2025-04-07. https://crazystupidtech.com/2025/04/07/a-biology-lab-without-test-tubes-sooner-than-you-think-says-arcs-patrick-hsu/.
- ↑ Boyle, Alan (2016-01-05). "Gates-backed Editas Medicine files for IPO, marking CRISPR gene-editing milestone" (in en-US). https://www.geekwire.com/2016/gates-backed-editas-medicine-files-for-ipo-in-crispr-gene-editing-milestone/.
- ↑ "Patrick Hsu - Salk Institute". https://www.salk.edu/scientist/patrick-hsu/.
- ↑ "Patrick D. Hsu". https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LhnU_joAAAAJ&hl=en.
- ↑ "Arc Institute - Patrick Hsu". https://arclabs.org/hsulab.
- ↑ "MIT Technology Review - Innovators Under 35: Patrick Hsu". https://www.technologyreview.com/innovator/patrick-hsu.
- ↑ "Patrick Hsu, 22 - 2015-01-05 - 2015 30 Under 30: Science" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/pictures/ggik45ekh/patrick-hsu-22/.
- ↑ Eckhardt, Juergen. "5 Important Medical Breakthroughs Of 2024" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/juergeneckhardt/2024/12/19/five-of-the-most-important-medical-breakthroughs-of-2024/.
- ↑ Thompson, Derek (2024-12-29). "The Most Important Breakthroughs of 2024" (in en). https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/2024-scientific-technological-advancements/681158/.
- ↑ Arc Institute's Patrick Hsu on Building an App Store for Biology with AI. YouTube. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
- ↑ No Priors Ep. 1-3 With Vevo Therapeutics and the Arc Institute. YouTube. 2025-02-25. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ↑ Nguyen, Eric; Poli, Michael; Durrant, Matthew G.; Kang, Brian; Katrekar, Dhruva; Li, David B.; Bartie, Liam J.; Thomas, Armin W. et al. (2024). "Sequence modeling and design from molecular to genome scale with Evo". Science 386 (6723). doi:10.1126/science.ado9336. PMID 39541441. Bibcode: 2024Sci...386o9336N.
- ↑ Callaway, Ewen (2024-05-10). "'ChatGPT for CRISPR' Creates New Gene-Editing Tools". Nature 629 (8011): 272. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-01243-w. PMID 38684833. Bibcode: 2024Natur.629..272C. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01243-w.
- ↑ Durrant, Matthew G.; Perry, Nicholas T.; Pai, James J.; Jangid, Aditya R.; Athukoralage, Januka S.; Hiraizumi, Masahiro; McSpedon, John P.; Pawluk, April et al. (June 2024). "Bridge RNAs direct programmable recombination of target and donor DNA" (in en). Nature 630 (8018): 984–993. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07552-4. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 38926615. Bibcode: 2024Natur.630..984D.
- ↑ Perry, Nicholas T.; Bartie, Liam J.; Katrekar, Dhruva; Gonzalez, Gabriel A.; Durrant, Matthew G.; Pai, James J.; Fanton, Alison; Martins, Juliana Q. et al. (2025-09-25). "Megabase-scale human genome rearrangement with programmable bridge recombinases". Science 0 (0). doi:10.1126/science.adz0276. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz0276.
- ↑ Ledford, Heidi (2024-07-01). "No CRISPR: Oddball 'Jumping Gene' Enzyme Edits Genomes". Nature 631 (8020): 470–471. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-02141-x. PMID 38937599. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02141-x.
- ↑ 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. PMID 23873081.
- ↑ 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" (in en). Cell 173 (3): 665–676.e14. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.033. PMID 29551272.
- ↑ Langreth, Robert (12 May 2025). "Exclusive: Patrick Hsu's startup Stylus Medicine launches, looks beyond CRISPR for gene insertion tech". https://endpts.com/exclusive-patrick-hsus-startup-stylus-medicine-launches-looks-beyond-crispr-for-gene-insertion-tech/.
- ↑ Terrain Biosciences. "Terrain Biosciences emerges from stealth to enable faster therapeutics and vaccine development with better RNA". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ↑ "Patrick Hsu LinkedIn" (in en). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pdhsu_thrilled-to-share-that-ive-joined-thrive-activity-7371645036955922432-DMSW/.
- ↑ "Patrick Hsu joins Thrive Capital as venture partner, continues Arc Institute | Alex Konrad posted on the topic | LinkedIn" (in en). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexrkonrad_news-prominent-bay-area-bio-and-ai-expert-activity-7371558090447532032-u_CB.
- ↑ "Time100 AI 2025: Joshua Kushner". https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305809/joshua-kushner/.
- ↑ "The Endpoints Slack interview: Arc Institute's Patrick Hsu on investing, AI and new ways of research" (in en). https://endpoints.news/endpoints-slack-interview-arc-institutes-patrick-hsu-on-ai-bio-investing/.
- ↑ "Announcing our Seed and Series A from Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins to Launch the AI SRE for the Enterprise - Blog | Traversal" (in en). https://traversal.com/blog/launch-announcement.
External links
- Hsu Lab at Arc Institute
- The Atlantic - The Most Important Breakthroughs of 2024
- MIT Technology Review - Innovators Under 35
- Forbes 30 Under 30 - Science
- Salk Institute Research Fellows
