Samuel H. Sternberg

2026 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Samuel H. Sternberg

Current Position:
Professor, Investigator

Institution:
Columbia University & Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Discipline:
Molecular & Cellular Biology

Recognized for: Discovering natural RNA-guided biological systems that catalyze gene insertion, gene silencing, and gene activation, transforming genome engineering, synthetic biology, and future biotechnology applications. 

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

Previous Positions:

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (Advisor: Jennifer Doudna)
PhD, University of California, Berkeley (Advisor: Jennifer Doudna)

Research Summary:

Living organisms have evolved molecular systems that can read, write, and rewrite genetic information. Samuel Sternberg, PhD, discovers these programmable biological machines and repurposes them into genome engineering tools. This pioneering work revealed CRISPR-associated transposases, which precisely insert large DNA sequences without the DNA cutting used by current CRISPR technologies, reducing the risk of harmful mutations. The Sternberg lab has recently uncovered RNA-guided and RNA-templated systems that create genes, control gene activity, and defend against viruses. These discoveries are expanding understanding of evolution and gene regulation while enabling safer approaches to gene therapy, microbiome engineering, and treatment of genetic disease.

“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. F.T. Hoffmann, T. Wiegand, A.I. Palmieri, J. Glass-Klaiber, R. Xiao, S. Tang, H.C. Le, C. Meers, G.D. Lampe, L. Chang, S.H. Sternberg. Exapted CRISPR-Cas12f homologs drive RNA-guided transcription. Nature, 2026. 

  2. 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, 2024. 
  3. 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, 2024.
  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, 2019.

Other Honors:

2025 Finalist, Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in Life Sciences, The Blavatnik Family Foundation
2025 Early-Career Research Award, RNA Society
2024 Scholar Award, Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation
2024 Young Investigator Award, Amgen Inc.
2023 CAREER Award, National Science Foundation
2022 Harold and Golden Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
2022 Alice Bohmfalk Charitable Trust Award, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
2020 New Innovator Award, National Institutes of Health
2020 Pew Biomedical Scholarship, Pew Charitable Trusts
2020 Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

In the Media:

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