Rachel Haurwitz

Haurwitz was born on May 20, 1985.^{[citation needed]} She grew up in Austin, Texas.^[1] Her mother is an elementary school teacher and her father, an environmental journalist.^[2]

Haurwitz began researching RNA during her undergraduate years.^[3] She attended Harvard College where she earned an undergraduate degree. In 2007, she began doctoral studies at University of California, Berkeley. At the age of 21,^[4] Haurwitz began working as a graduate student in Jennifer Doudna's laboratory, in 2008 where she completed her doctorate in molecular and cell biology.^[5] Haurwitz originally intended on becoming an intellectual property lawyer for biotechnology patents but later chose to continue in science.^[6]

In 2011, Haurwitz and Doudna co-founded Caribou Biosciences, a gene editing spinout-startup company.^[7] Haurwitz is the company's CEO and president. She holds several patents for CRISPR-based technologies.^[5] The firm was initially housed in the basement of the building that housed Doudna's laboratory. The company supports the commercialization^[8] of CRISPR technology in healthcare and agriculture.^[9] Its researchers explore issues in antimicrobial resistance, food scarcity, and vaccine shortages.^[9] The company licensed Berkeley's CRISPR patent and deals with agricultural and pharmaceutical companies and research firms.^[10] In 2018, Haurwitz announced that the firm was shifting focus on medicine and developing cancer therapies targeting microbes.^[2]

She is a long-distance runner and is training for a marathon.^[9] Haurwitz knits as a hobby.^[6]

In 2021, Haurwitz was selected as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst. As part of the program, she attended the annual New Economy Forum held in Singapore, and the Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst Retreat that same year.^[11]