Kevin M. Esvelt
Kevin Esvelt in 2016
OccupationAssistant professor at the MIT Media Lab
Academic background
EducationPhD in Biochemistry, Harvard University, B.A. in Chemistry and Biology, Harvey Mudd College
Academic work
DisciplineBiology
Main interests
Websitehttps://www.media.mit.edu/people/esvelt/overview/

Kevin Michael Esvelt is an American biologist. He is currently an assistant professor at the MIT Media Lab and leads the Sculpting Evolution group.[1] After receiving a B.A. in chemistry and biology from Harvey Mudd College, he completed his PhD work at Harvard University as a Hertz Fellow.[2] Esvelt developed phage assisted continuous evolution (PACE)[3] during his PhD as a graduate student in David R. Liu's laboratory. As a Wyss Technology Fellow, Esvelt was involved with the development of gene drive technology.[4] He focuses on the bioethics and biosafety of gene drives.[5][6][7] In 2016, Esvelt was named an Innovator Under 35 by MIT Technology Review.[8]

Early life and education

Esvelt was born to an elementary school teacher and a Bonneville Power Administration employee, and spent his childhood between Portland and Seattle.[9] Fascinated by biology from an early age, Esvelt first developed an interest in dinosaurs.[10] He discovered his passion lay in genetics after a trip to the Galápagos Islands, where he saw what evolution was capable of and wished to achieve similar results using science.[10]

Esvelt displayed a predilection for bold biological projects early on in his academic career. While an undergraduate at Harvey Mudd, he sought to reversibly induce male infertility using the sperm surface protein fertilin beta.[9] During this time, he was also an advocate for directed panspermia as a defense against extinction of all life, an idea he later rejected.[9]

Career

PACE

While a graduate student in David Liu's laboratory, Esvelt demonstrated phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE), a method of using bacteriophages to quickly and efficiently engineer proteins, promoters, and other biomolecules.[3] PACE has since been used to engineer proteases,[11] study antibodies in cancer research,[12] and understand the evolutionary dynamics of proteins.[13]

CRISPR-Cas9 and gene drives

In 2013, Esvelt proposed the idea of using CRISPR in gene drives.[14] Although both methods had been in use independent of each other, Esvelt was the first to connect the two, and with colleagues show that CRISPR could make the implementation of gene drives easier and more efficient.[15]

The scientific - and ethical - implications of this new, more straightforward method of conducting gene drives were recognized almost immediately. One author compared gene drives to the fictional substance ice-nine, which freezes over any water it comes into contact with, propagating indefinitely as long as there is more accessible water to freeze.[16] While CRISPR-based gene drives have the potential to generate ecosystem alterations that benefit humanity (e.g., eliminating malaria by spreading infertility genes among a population of mosquitoes), unforeseen (or perhaps intentional) such modifications could result in irreparable environmental damage that directly or indirectly causes great harm to people and animals alike.[9] Keenly aware of the adverse effects even a well-intentioned and thought-out gene drive could have, Esvelt consults both scientists and the public in the course of his planning.[5]

Biosecurity work

In the wake of his controversial work on gene drive technology, and the failures of existing public health structures to adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, Esvelt has become more active in biosecurity research. He argues that action must be taken soon, given that many researchers are able to construct or reconstruct deadly viruses in the lab, and there are few robust safeguards protecting humanity against accidental or deliberate release of these bioweapons. He envisions a three-tiered security system: early detection using a Nucleic Acid Observatory,[17] advanced preparation (involving stockpiling broad-spectrum medicines and better PPE), and better coordination between scientists, organizations, and countries.[18] Esvelt is also involved in SecureDNA, a technology to screen all synthetic DNA sequence orders to prevent actors from obtaining dangerous genes (e.g., from a deadly virus).[19]

Media appearances

To raise awareness about biosecurity issues and recruit interested scientists, Esvelt has made a number of appearances on-screen and in podcasts.

Esvelt appears in the Netflix series Unnatural Selection, where he discusses his efforts to conduct gene drives and the response of the local people who would be affected.[20]

He has also presented his biodefense program at a number of conferences.

Esvelt has appeared in several podcasts discussing biosecurity and his biodefense program.

References

  1. ↑ "Person Overview ‹ Kevin Esvelt". MIT Media Lab. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  2. ↑ "Kevin Esvelt". hertzfoundation.org. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  3. 1 2 Liu, David R.; Carlson, Jacob C.; Esvelt, Kevin M. (April 2011). "A system for the continuous directed evolution of biomolecules". Nature. 472 (7344): 499–503. Bibcode:2011Natur.472..499E. doi:10.1038/nature09929. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 3084352. PMID 21478873.
  4. ↑ "Safeguarding Gene Drives". Wyss Institute. 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  5. 1 2 Specter, Michael (2016-12-26). "How DNA Editing Could Change Life on Earth". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  6. ↑ Specter, Michael (2016-06-10). "The Perils and Promises of Gene-Drive Technology". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  7. ↑ Yong, Ed (2017-07-11). "One Man's Plan to Make Sure Gene Editing Doesn't Go Haywire". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  8. ↑ "Kevin Esvelt | Innovators Under 35". www.innovatorsunder35.com. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "This Gene Technology Could Change the World. Its Maker Isn't Sure It Should". www.vice.com. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  10. 1 2 Williams, Chloe (April 2020). "How biologist Kevin Esvelt came to know the planet, in his own words". Inverse. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  11. ↑ Packer, Michael S.; Rees, Holly A.; Liu, David R. (2017-10-16). "Phage-assisted continuous evolution of proteases with altered substrate specificity". Nature Communications. 8 (1): 956. Bibcode:2017NatCo...8..956P. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01055-9. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5643515. PMID 29038472.
  12. ↑ Ye, Xiaoxiao; Tu, Min; Piao, Mingxin; Yang, Liang; Zhou, Zeng; Li, Zhaopeng; Lin, Meiyu; Yang, Zhenming; Zuo, Zecheng (2020-11-01). "Using phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE) to evolve human PD1". Experimental Cell Research. 396 (1): 112244. doi:10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.112244. ISSN 0014-4827. PMID 32860814.
  13. ↑ Dickinson, Bryan C.; Leconte, Aaron M.; Allen, Benjamin; Esvelt, Kevin M.; Liu, David R. (2013-05-28). "Experimental interrogation of the path dependence and stochasticity of protein evolution using phage-assisted continuous evolution". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (22): 9007–9012. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110.9007D. doi:10.1073/pnas.1220670110. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3670371. PMID 23674678.
  14. ↑ Williams, Chloe (April 2020). "Gene drives could solve the world's oldest problems. Kevin Esvelt wants to make sure they don't create any". Inverse. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  15. ↑ Esvelt, Kevin M; Smidler, Andrea L; Catteruccia, Flaminia; Church, George M (2014-07-17). "Concerning RNA-guided gene drives for the alteration of wild populations". eLife. 3: e03401. doi:10.7554/eLife.03401. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 4117217. PMID 25035423.
  16. ↑ Jacobsen, Rowan. "Deleting a Species". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  17. ↑ Consortium, The Nucleic Acid Observatory (2021-08-05). "A Global Nucleic Acid Observatory for Biodefense and Planetary Health". arXiv:2108.02678 [q-bio.GN].
  18. ↑ "Kevin Esvelt: Mitigating catastrophic biorisks | Effective Altruism". www.effectivealtruism.org. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  19. ↑ "Secure DNA Project - DNA Synthesis Screening". www.securedna.org. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  20. ↑ Samuel, Sigal (2019-10-22). "Is biohacking ethical? It's complicated. A new Netflix series explains why". Vox. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
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