Feng Zhang (Chinese: 张锋; pinyin: Zhāng Fēng; born October 22, 1981) is a scientist who was born in China and now works in the United States. He holds the position of James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an important member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Additionally, he works as an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, as a professor in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Department of Biological Engineering, and as an HHMI investigator. Zhang is best known for his key role in creating optogenetics and CRISPR technologies. In 2025, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, which is the highest award in the United States for achievements that advance technology.
Early life and education
Zhang was born in China in 1981. His parents both worked as computer programmers. When he was 11 years old, he moved to Iowa with his mother. He studied at Theodore Roosevelt High School and Central Academy in Des Moines, and he graduated in 2000. During high school, Zhang took part in the Research Science Institute (RSI) summer program at MIT in 1999. He was a finalist at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, he placed third in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (STS).
Zhang received a B.A. in chemistry and physics in 2004 from Harvard University. While at Harvard, he worked with Xiaowei Zhuang. Later, he earned a PhD in chemical and biological engineering from Stanford University in 2009. His PhD advisor was Karl Deisseroth, and during this time, Zhang helped create the technology for optogenetics with Edward Boyden. After completing his PhD, he worked as an independent Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 2009 to 2010.
Research
Zhang's lab uses synthetic biology to create tools for studying the brain. These tools help modify genes and how they are controlled. As a postdoc, he started working with TAL effectors to manage how genes are turned on or off.
Building on research from Sylvain Moineau's lab, Zhang worked to improve the CRISPR system for use in human cells in 2011. His team compared their method of using RNA with a different RNA design for human cells. They identified important features of guide RNA needed for Cas9 to work in mammalian cells, which are not needed in simpler tests. In 2013, Zhang, Doudna, and colleagues from Harvard started Editas Medicine to create and sell CRISPR-based treatments.
Zhang discovered Cas13 with scientist Eugene Koonin using computer-based methods. In 2016, he co-founded Arbor Biotechnologies to develop Cas13 for medical use.
His lab also created a CRISPR-based test called SHERLOCK, which can detect very small amounts of viruses and bacteria. This test can identify different strains even at extremely low levels. In 2018, Zhang co-founded Sherlock Biosciences to improve this diagnostic technology.
In 2018, Zhang also co-founded Beam Therapeutics with David R. Liu, a co-founder of Editas and a Harvard colleague, to advance Liu's research on base editing and prime editing.
In 2023, the first CRISPR/Cas9-based treatment, based on a design Zhang created in 2015, was approved for use in treating sickle cell disease. That same year, Zhang co-founded Aera Therapeutics, which focuses on using lipid and protein nanoparticles for T-cell targeting therapy.
In 2025, Zhang's lab discovered TIGR-Tas, a group of RNA-guided systems that can target DNA. These systems may help in future genome editing efforts.
Honors
Zhang is a recipient of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award and a 2012 Searle Scholar. He was named to MIT Technology Review's TR35 list in 2013. His work on optogenetics and CRISPR has been recognized by several awards, including the 2011 Perl-UNC Prize, which he shared with Boyden and Deisseroth; the 2014 Alan T. Waterman Award, the National Science Foundation's highest honor for an outstanding researcher under 35; the 2014 Gabbay Award, which he shared with Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier; the 2014 Young Investigator Award from the Society for Neuroscience, shared with Diana Bautista; and the ISTT Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Transgenic Technologies. Zhang also received the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF)–Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Award in 2014 and was named the 2016 NYSCF–Robertson Stem Cell Prize Recipient.
In 2015, he became the first recipient of the Tsuneko & Reiji Okazaki Award from Nagoya University. In 2016, he shared the Gairdner Foundation International Award and the Tang Prize with Doudna and Charpentier for the second and third times. That same year, he was named to the Asian Scientist 100 list by the Asian Scientist magazine.
In 2017, he received the Albany Medical Center Prize along with Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna, Luciano Marraffini, and Francisco Mojica. He also received the Lemelson-MIT Prize.
In 2018, he became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine.
In 2019, he received the Harvey Prize from the Technion/Israel for 2018, which he shared with Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna. That same year, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
Although his research on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing was important, the Nobel Prize committee in 2020 did not recognize it. Instead, the prize was given to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their work on CRISPR.
In 2021, he received the Richard Lounsbery Award.
In 2025, he and Jennifer Doudna both received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
In 2026, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
As of 2026, he serves on the board of trustees for the non-profit organizations Society for Science and Center for Excellence in Education.