George Church is a
Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard
University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His pioneering work has contributed to the
development of DNA sequencing and genome engineering technologies for which he received multiple awards
including the 2011 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute and
election to the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering. He co-authored over 550 publications,
more than 150 patents, and a book titled
“Regenesis:
How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves”. He also initiated the Personal Genome
Project and started over 20 companies.
Our Mission and Vision for the Future
Enabling Personal Genome Sequencing
Nebula Genomics’ mission is to usher in the era of personal genomics by providing access to
affordable and secure Whole Genome Sequencing. This is made possible by the contributions of
Prof. George Church to the development of multiple DNA sequencing methods. In particular,
molecular multiplexing approaches that enabled next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) as well as
long-read nanopore sequencing. Today, Nebula Genomics is turning these breakthrough technologies
into products and making them available to people around the globe.
At Nebula Genomics we are driving large-scale human genome sequencing to advance our
understanding of the causes of diseases and lay the foundation for personalized therapies
of the future. These include targeted gene therapies that will make it possible to cure
genetic diseases. In addition to developing DNA sequencing technologies, the laboratory of
Prof. George Church has also made major contributions to the development of tools for
gene editing. In particular, it co-invented CRISPR-Cas9, a revolutionary gene-editing
tool that brought us much closer to creating gene therapies.
To go beyond the editing of a few genes, Prof. George Church recently launched the Human Genome
Project-Write to develop technologies for large-scale engineering of human genomes. These
advancements in synthetic biology can also be applied to revive extinct species. For example,
the laboratory of Prof. George Church works on reviving the woolly mammoth by inserting
mammoth DNA into elephant skin cells which can then be turned into stem cells and used to
produce embryos. We envision technologies for reading and writing genomes working hand-in-hand
to create the world of tomorrow.