Stanford Medicine

Type: Lab / Research Institution (AI x Genomics)

Stanford Medicine, in collaboration with Princeton University, developed CRISPR-GPT — the first large language model copilot purpose-built for gene editing experimental design. The work came from Le Cong's lab (a key figure in CRISPR's history — Cong was co-first author on the 2013 paper demonstrating CRISPR-Cas9 editing in human cells while working in Feng Zhang's lab at the Broad Institute).

The CRISPR-GPT system was trained on 11 years of expert gene editing discussions and demonstrated that AI could compress the gene editing workflow from months of iterative optimization to first-attempt success — even for novice researchers. The collaboration with Princeton (Kaixuan Huang) and with Russ Altman (a pioneer in biomedical informatics) positioned the work at the intersection of AI capability and biological application.

Stanford Medicine's broader AI in biology portfolio includes protein structure prediction, drug discovery acceleration, and clinical trial design optimization. The CRISPR-GPT work represents a specific instance of a broader institutional bet: that AI will become the primary accelerant for biological research in the coming decade.

Key Contributions

• CRISPR-GPT: LLM copilot for gene editing (Sep 2025) (CRISPR-GPT)
• Le Cong lab — AI x genomics convergence research (CRISPR-GPT)
• Enabled novice first-attempt gene editing success (CRISPR-GPT)

Mentioned In

• AI-Genomics Convergence — Primary developer of CRISPR-GPT

Related Entities

• Broad Institute — Le Cong's prior institution; CRISPR-GPT builds on foundational CRISPR work