Charles Gersbach

John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Appointments and Affiliations

• John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
• Professor of Biomedical Engineering
• Associate Professor of Surgery
• Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
• Associate Professor in Cell Biology
• Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
• Core Faculty in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
• Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center

Contact Information

• Office Location: 2123 CIEMAS, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 613-2147
• Email Address: charles.gersbach@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Google Scholar
  • http://gersbach.bme.duke.edu/

Education

• Ph.D. Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006
• B.S. Georgia Institute of Technology, 2001

Research Interests

Gene therapy, genomics and epigenomics, biomolecular and cellular engineering, regenerative medicine, and synthetic biology.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Fellow (NAI). National Academy of Inventors. 2022
• John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering . Duke University. 2021
• Stansell Family Distinguished Research Award . Pratt School of Engineering. 2019
• Allen Distinguished Investigator. Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group. 2017
• Fellow. American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. 2017
• Thomas Langford Lectureship Award. Duke University. 2016
• Outstanding New Investigator. American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. 2014
• Capers and Marion McDonald Teaching and Research Award. Duke University. 2013
• Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2012
• Rising Star Award. Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine. 2012
• Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award. March of Dimes Foundation. 2011
• NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. National Institutes of Health. 2011
• Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. Oak Ridge Associated Universities. 2011
• Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award. The Hartwell Foundation. 2010

Courses Taught

• BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 562: Biology by Design (GE, MC)
• BME 564L: Genome Engineering Lab (GE, MC)
• BME 590L: Special Topics with Lab
• BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
• BME 899: Special Readings in Biomedical Engineering
• CELLBIO 493: Research Independent Study
• EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering

In the News

• Gene Therapy for Heart Attacks in Mice Just Got More Precise (Dec 13, 2022)
• Duke Awards 22 Distinguished Professorships (Jun 28, 2021)
• School of Medicine Faculty, Students Shine During Duke University Research Week (Feb 5, 2021 | School of Medicine)
• Using CRISPR Tagging to Turn Stem Cells Into Just the Adult Cell You Need (Dec 2, 2020 | School of Medicine)
• Taking Aim at the 'Dark' Genome to Uncover New Therapies for Disease (Oct 1, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• New CRISPR Approach Expands the Genetic Engineering Toolkit (Sep 24, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Engineering 'Hairpins' Increases Accuracy of CRISPR Genome Editing (Apr 15, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Single Genetic Editing Treatment Provides Long-Term Benefits in Mice (Feb 18, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• A Chinese Scientist Gene-Edited a Human Embryo: What, How & Why (Dec 17, 2018 | Duke Research Blog)
• From Innovation to Impact (Oct 3, 2018 | Duke Med Alumni News)
• CRISPR/Cas9 Silences Gene Associated with High Cholesterol (Apr 27, 2018)
• Pratt Researchers Advance Treatment That Reduces Blood Cholesterol Levels in Adult Mice (Apr 26, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Faculty Startup Sold to Belgian Pharma for $30 Million (Apr 9, 2018)
• Two Postdocs Win Gene Therapy Fellowship (Nov 29, 2017)
• Screening the Human Genome's 'Dark Matter' (Apr 4, 2017 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• CRISPR Screen Detects Functional Gene Regulation (Apr 3, 2017 | The Scientist)
• Betting on the first disease to be treated by gene editing (Mar 15, 2017 | CNBC)
• Duke Awards Distinguished Professorships, Inducts New Bass Society Members (May 5, 2016)
• Gene editing treats disease in mice (Jan 4, 2016 | BBC News)
• Gene editing offers hope for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy, studies find (Jan 4, 2016 | The New York Times)
• CRISPR Treats Genetic Disorder in Adult Mammal (Dec 31, 2015)
• Pratt Research Brings Precise Control to Gene Expression (Oct 27, 2015)
• Studying the Harm and Healing Power of Steroids (May 26, 2015)
• Engineers gain control of gene activity; new therapies may be ahead (Apr 6, 2015)
• Bacterial Defense Mechanism Targets Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (Feb 19, 2015)
• Bacterial Defense Mechanism Targets Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (Feb 18, 2015)
• Lighting Up the Duke 'D' With Genes (Feb 10, 2015)

Representative Publications

• Black, JB; Adler, AF; Wang, H-G; D'Ippolito, AM; Hutchinson, HA; Reddy, TE; Pitt, GS; Leong, KW; Gersbach, CA, Targeted Epigenetic Remodeling of Endogenous Loci by CRISPR/Cas9-Based Transcriptional Activators Directly Converts Fibroblasts to Neuronal Cells., Cell Stem Cell, vol 19 no. 3 (2016), pp. 406-414 [10.1016/j.stem.2016.07.001] [abs].
• Maeder, ML; Gersbach, CA, Genome-editing Technologies for Gene and Cell Therapy., Molecular Therapy, vol 24 no. 3 (2016), pp. 430-446 [10.1038/mt.2016.10] [abs].
• Thakore, PI; Black, JB; Hilton, IB; Gersbach, CA, Editing the epigenome: technologies for programmable transcription and epigenetic modulation., Nature Methods, vol 13 no. 2 (2016), pp. 127-137 [10.1038/nmeth.3733] [abs].
• Nelson, CE; Hakim, CH; Ousterout, DG; Thakore, PI; Moreb, EA; Castellanos Rivera, RM; Madhavan, S; Pan, X; Ran, FA; Yan, WX; Asokan, A; Zhang, F; Duan, D; Gersbach, CA, In vivo genome editing improves muscle function in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy., Science, vol 351 no. 6271 (2016), pp. 403-407 [10.1126/science.aad5143] [abs].
• Thakore, PI; D'Ippolito, AM; Song, L; Safi, A; Shivakumar, NK; Kabadi, AM; Reddy, TE; Crawford, GE; Gersbach, CA, Highly specific epigenome editing by CRISPR-Cas9 repressors for silencing of distal regulatory elements., Nat Methods, vol 12 no. 12 (2015), pp. 1143-1149 [10.1038/nmeth.3630] [abs].
• Hilton, IB; D'Ippolito, AM; Vockley, CM; Thakore, PI; Crawford, GE; Reddy, TE; Gersbach, CA, Epigenome editing by a CRISPR-Cas9-based acetyltransferase activates genes from promoters and enhancers., Nat Biotechnol, vol 33 no. 5 (2015), pp. 510-517 [10.1038/nbt.3199] [abs].
• Polstein, LR; Gersbach, CA, A light-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 system for control of endogenous gene activation., Nature Chemical Biology, vol 11 no. 3 (2015), pp. 198-200 [10.1038/nchembio.1753] [abs].
• Ousterout, DG; Kabadi, AM; Thakore, PI; Majoros, WH; Reddy, TE; Gersbach, CA, Multiplex CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing for correction of dystrophin mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy., Nature Communications, vol 6 (2015) [10.1038/ncomms7244] [abs].
• Perez-Pinera, P; Kocak, DD; Vockley, CM; Adler, AF; Kabadi, AM; Polstein, LR; Thakore, PI; Glass, KA; Ousterout, DG; Leong, KW; Guilak, F; Crawford, GE; Reddy, TE; Gersbach, CA, RNA-guided gene activation by CRISPR-Cas9-based transcription factors., Nat Methods, vol 10 no. 10 (2013), pp. 973-976 [10.1038/nmeth.2600] [abs].