I’m making my way through Walter Isaacson’s “The Code Breaker.” It is the story of Nobel Prize winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and her pioneering work in CRISPR gene editing.
I don’t yet have much in the way of lessons learnt from the book as much as gratitude for such an in-depth take into the research process of one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time. The iterative process of discovery, the collaboration between Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier and their respective research teams is a nice combination of fascinating, inspiring, and riveting.
The story illustrates the power of bringing together people with curiosity, single-minded determination, resilience, and a willingness to collaborate on thoughtful hypothesis driven experimentation.
It is a great reminder of an enduring idea – high quality teams, led by strong and capable leaders, can accomplish amazing things.
