Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize 2026 awarded to the biochemist Martin Jinek

The Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize, which is endowed with 250,000 francs, is regarded as the Swiss Nobel Prize. This year’s laureate, Martin Jinek, is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Zurich. He is being honoured for his outstanding research on RNA-controlled molecular systems capable of specifically targeting cellular genetic material, as well as their application in genome editing.

Together with other researchers, Martin Jinek played a key role in further developing the natural CRISPR-Cas9 system into a programmable tool for the targeted modification of DNA. This led to the CRISPR-Cas9 technology for genome editing – also known as genetic scissors – which earned Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

A few years earlier, as a postdoctoral researcher in Doudna’s laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, Jinek had made a major contribution to the landmark publication by the two research groups that laid the foundation for the genome-editing tool. Together with Krzysztof Chylinski from Charpentier’s research team, Jinek was co-first author of the 2012 landmark paper "A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity".

On the cusp of a major breakthrough

At the time, it was already known that bacteria possess various defence systems, known as CRISPR systems. Jinek demonstrated that, in one such system, the protein Cas9 functions as a DNA-cleaving protein, or nuclease.

As he and his colleagues subsequently demonstrated, this process requires a combination of Cas9 and several RNA molecules. One of these, the guide RNA, directs Cas9 to the appropriate site within the genome of the viruses. Jinek systematically constructed different guide RNAs to direct the molecular scissors to different sites in the DNA. The approach proved successful. The researchers also managed to merge the required RNA components into a single chimeric RNA molecule.

As the project progressed, it became increasingly clear that Jinek and his colleagues were on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Suddenly, the work was no longer solely about fundamental research and understanding a bacterial defence system. The researchers realised that they had discovered, and could further develop, a tool with broad applications in biotechnology and even gene therapy, enabling targeted genetic modifications.

"I still remember the day I presented my research findings in Jennifer Doudna’s office," Jinek recalls. "I said to her: I believe CRISPR-Cas9 can, in principle, be used for genome editing. It can be programmed to determine which DNA segments are to be cleaved." She immediately recognised the technology’s potential and said: "Write everything down!"

Staying grounded

The resulting 2012 publication attracted widespread attention. Yet even in retrospect, Jinek remains remarkably level-headed: "It was an intense and extraordinary period. However, it was important to keep our feet on the ground. We still had a lot of work ahead of us, and there was so much that we did not yet understand." The research continued at full speed and once again proved successful. Following the publication, it took only a matter of months before Doudna’s team and research groups around the world were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in a variety of organisms.

For Jinek, however, it was time to move on. His postdoctoral fellowship had come to an end, and the next stage of his career awaited: establishing his own research group. Europe beckoned. During his interview at the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Zurich, he immediately felt at ease with the team and sensed that his research would be welcomed there. In 2013, he established his own laboratory at the university.

From theory to application

CRISPR-Cas9 is no longer merely a theoretical tool of biotechnology. Researchers are now exploring its use in developing disease-resistant crop varieties for agriculture. In medicine, the technology has already entered clinical practice. The first CRISPR-based gene therapy was approved in 2023 and is now used to treat beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease, two inherited disorders affecting the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin in red blood cells. CRISPR is also being used in cancer immunotherapy. At present, Jinek estimates that around 100 clinical trials are investigating the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool for a variety of diseases.

Yet the CRISPR method also has its limitations. One of these is its limited specificity: Like earlier forms of gene therapy, CRISPR-Cas9 can occasionally cleave DNA at unintended sites. This may give rise to so-called off-target effects, which can pose risks to human health. In addition, the technology is still relatively young, and long-term clinical experience will be needed to fully assess its safety and efficacy.

With great power comes great responsibility

His focus is on making the meaningful application of genome-editing tools even more effective and safer, particularly for medical applications in inherited diseases and cancer, as well as for fundamental research. "Fundamental research was essential in ultimately enabling the development of a groundbreaking technology such as CRISPR-Cas9. This kind of research requires time and, accordingly, sustained long-term funding. This is crucial for future innovation," explains Jinek.

He is therefore especially pleased to receive the Marcel Benoist Prize in recognition of both his past achievements and his ongoing research. The work originally set out simply to understand how bacteria function. Yet that research has already given rise to key applications, thanks to the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool. And still, as Jinek points out, there is much left to discover. "We are only starting to understand bacteria as living organisms. I am intrigued to find out what other surprises they still have in store for us."

Excerpts have been taken and adapted from texts by the Marcel Benoist Foundation (author: Adrian Ritter, edited by SilberMedia GmbH)