Broad Institute

Type: Lab / Research Institution (Genomics)

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is the world's leading center for precision genome editing research. Founded in 2004, it operates at the intersection of genomics, medicine, and data science. David Liu's lab at the Broad is responsible for the invention of both base editing (2016) and prime editing (2019), and continues to push the frontier with the suppressor tRNA approach for disease-agnostic treatment of nonsense mutations.

The institute has been central to the CRISPR revolution since its earliest days — Feng Zhang's lab at the Broad was among the first to demonstrate CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in human cells (2013), leading to the still-contested patent dispute with UC Berkeley (Jennifer Doudna). The Broad holds key patents on CRISPR use in eukaryotic cells.

Beyond editing tools, the Broad houses the Genetic Perturbation Platform, the Cancer Program, and major efforts in single-cell genomics and spatial transcriptomics. Its computational biology capabilities are world-class, and the institute has been an early adopter of AI/ML methods in biological research.

Key Contributions

• Home of David Liu's lab — base editing, prime editing, suppressor tRNAs (Prime Editing Suppressor tRNAs)
• Feng Zhang lab — early CRISPR-Cas9 mammalian cell editing (2013)
• Key CRISPR patent holder (eukaryotic applications)
• Major center for single-cell genomics and computational biology

Mentioned In

• Prime Editing — Home institution for prime editing development
• CRISPR Clinical Translation — Source of technologies entering clinical trials

Related Entities

• David Liu — Core member and gene editing pioneer