Samuel H. Sternberg

2025 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Samuel H. Sternberg

Current Position:
Associate Professor, Investigator

Institution:
Columbia University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Discipline:
Molecular & Cellular Biology

Recognized for: Discovering programmable, RNA-guided enzymes from mobile genetic elements and pioneering their use in genome editing, gene regulation, and synthetic biology across diverse organisms.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genome Engineering, CRISPR

Previous Positions:

Scientist and Group Leader, Caribou Biosciences, Inc.
PhD, University of California, Berkeley (Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Doudna)
BA, Columbia University 

Research Summary:

Samuel Sternberg, PhD, investigates how selfish genetic elements — such as transposons and viruses — illuminate fundamental principles of genome evolution, regulation, and control, while also serving as a source of novel molecular tools. His lab discovered CRISPR-associated transposases (CASTs) that enable RNA-guided gene insertion without cutting DNA, and nuclease-dead CRISPR proteins that function as RNA-guided transcription factors. They also identified a new class of reverse transcriptases that synthesize functional DNA molecules directly from RNA, including entire genes de novo, revealing new modes of genetic information encoding. These systems expand possibilities for genome engineering, transcriptional control, and synthetic gene creation.

“Some of nature’s most elegant innovations began as selfish genetic elements. I’m fascinated by how evolution repurposed these molecular tools — and how we can, too. Thanks to the Blavatnik Family Foundation for honoring curiosity-driven discovery!”

Key Publications:

  1. S. Tang, V. Conte, D.J. Zhang, R. Žedaveinytė, G.D. Lampe, T. Wiegand, L.C. Tang, M. Wang, M.W.G. Walker, J.T. George, L.E. Berchowitz, M. Jovanovic, S.H. Sternberg. De novo gene synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase. Science 386 (2024), eadq0876.
  2. T. Wiegand, F.T. Hoffmann, M.W.G. Walker, S. Tang, E. Richard, H.C. Le, C. Meers, S.H. Sternberg. TnpB homologs exapted from transposons are RNA-guided transcription factors. Nature 631 (2024): 439–448.
  3. C. Meers, H.C. Le, S.R. Pesari, F.T. Hoffmann, M.W.G. Walker, J. Gezelle, S. Tang, S.H. Sternberg. Transposon-encoded nucleases use guide RNAs to promote their selfish spread. Nature 622 (2023): 863–871.
  4. S.E. Klompe, P.L.H. Vo, T.S. Halpin-Healy, S.H. Sternberg. Transposon-encoded CRISPR–Cas systems direct RNA-guided DNA integration. Nature, 571 (2019): 219-225.

Other Honors:

2025 RNA Society Early-Career Research Award
2024 Mallinckrodt Scholar Award
2024 Amgen Young Investigator Award
2023 NSF CAREER Award
2022 Harold and Golden Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research
2022 Alice Bohmfalk Charitable Trust Award
2021 Irma T. Hirschl and Monique Weill-Caulier Research Award
2020 NIH New Innovator Award (DP2)
2020 Pew Biomedical Scholarship
2020 Sloan Research Fellowship

In the Media:

Website