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Kevin Esvelt

Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences; NEC Career Development Professor of Computer and Communications
Contact Information:
Groups
Article Research

It shouldn’t be easy to buy synthetic DNA fragments to recreate the 1918 flu virus

In STAT, Media Lab Professor Kevin Esvelt calls for stronger regulation of synthetic DNA.
Article Research

Uruguay wants to use gene drives to eradicate devastating screwworms

The project was inspired by a conversation with Media Lab Professor Kevin Esvelt, a pioneer in developing gene drives.
Article Research

CRISPR gene drives and the future of evolution

Professor Kevin Esvelt talks to science journalist Hannah Thomasy about the power—and the risks—of biotechnology.
Video Videos

Research Group Overview: Sculpting Evolution

Cultivating wisdom through evolutionary and ecological engineering.
Article Research

How to make Covid the last pandemic

A new paper published by Kevin Esvelt lays out a blueprint for preventing, preparing for, and responding to future pandemics.
Post Research

MIT Media Lab Future Fellowship

As of November 16, 2022: Due to the recent bankruptcy filing of the FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange, and the resignation of the team that …
Oct. 12, 2022
Article Research

Experts debate research at the heart of lab leak theory. Who won?

Kevin Esvelt and Gigi Gronvall join Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinky to discuss Gain of Function research, and Covid Origin Theory.
Article Research

In an effort to curb Lyme disease, scientists hope to release thousands of genetically altered mice on Nantucket

If fewer mice carry Lyme, the scientists say, fewer ticks that bite them would become infected.
Article Research

Speeding up directed evolution of molecules in the lab

Using a new robotic platform, researchers can simultaneously track hundreds of microbial populations as they evolve new proteins.
Article Research

Opinion: Manipulating viruses and risking pandemics is too dangerous. It’s time to stop.

Kevin Esvelt calls on the research community to build defenses against future pandemics, not attempt to discover viruses that cause them.
Post Research

M. Ehsan Hoque and Kevin Esvelt named to 2016 list of 35 Innovators Under 35

The people in the 16th annual celebration of young innovators are disrupters and dreamers.
Article Research

Information Hazards

MIT biologist Kevin Esvelt discusses the biology of the pandemic and how gain-of-function research jeopardizes public safety.
Article Research

We lost to SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. We can defeat B-117 in 2021

Esvelt and Lipsitch lay out a path for slowing the spread of B.1.1.7, and ensuring that we're better prepared for future pandemics.
Article Research

Contact tracing: So promising. So invasive.

Kevin Esvelt, master's student Anika Ullah, and other experts talk about bi-directional contact tracing, privacy, and halting Covid-19.
Article Research

The ethical way to alter organisms

An inventor of CRISPR-based gene drive has some advice to improve science, ethics, and the life-saving potential of these technologies.
Article Research

Episode 6: Reshaping nature through gene drives

Kevin Esvelt and other experts talk about the risks and possible benefits of using gene drives to eliminate diseases and invasive species.
Article Research

FAQ: Could exposure to the common cold reduce the severity of Covid-19 infection?

Read the FAQ that accompanies the op-ed by Kevin Esvelt and Carolyn P. Neuhaus, which answers questions about the research they're proposing
Article Research

Could exposure to the common cold reduce the severity of Covid-19 infection?

We don’t know, but the idea is hardly crazy—and if the answer is yes, we could save many lives long before a vaccine arrives
Video Videos

Responsible Data in the Time of Pandemic: GAEN-based Contact Tracing and Challenges

Thursday August 20, 2020 …
Article Research

The coronavirus pandemic reawakens bioweapon fears

Kevin Esvelt and other experts talk to Axios about the risk of, and potential defenses against, engineered pathogens.
Article Research

Supercomputers help researchers speed drug discovery for Covid-19

An MIT research team is using supercomputers to help develop a drug to treat the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Article Research

Safe Paths: A privacy-first approach to contact tracing

A multinational team develops new tools to slow the spread of pandemics.
Video Videos

Planning the future after Covid-19

Saturday April 4, 2020 …
April 6, 2020
Article Research

Gene drives could stop the world's oldest problems. Kevin Esvelt wants to make sure they don't start any.

Esvelt's career has gone from straight science into ethics and safety.
Article Research

If you care about the future of Earth, you must care about the human species

How biologist Kevin Esvelt came to know the planet, in his own words.
Post Research

Kevin Esvelt selected for the Inverse Future 50

Kevin Esvelt has been named as one of the Inverse Future 50, “a group of 50 people who will be forces of good in the 2020s.”
Article Research

How emerging technologies can help us fight the new coronavirus

Sculpting Evolution head Kevin Esvelt shares how emerging technologies can help us fight the new coronavirus.
Article Research

This gene technology could change the world. Its maker isn’t sure it should.

How does one scientist deal with the potential ramifications of his own creation?
Article Research

We can change the DNA of an entire species—in the wild

On Should This Exist?, Sculpting Evolution head Kevin Esvelt grapples with the potential benefits and consequences of gene drive.
Gallery Research

Daisy Drives
Article Research

Keeping genetic engineering localized

In a paper published in PNAS, researchers at MIT and Harvard University describe a self-limiting gene drive system.
Article Research

Scientists release controversial genetically modified mosquitoes in high-security lab

Scientists hope these genetically modified "gene drive" mosquitoes could help eradicate malaria.
Article Research

Fighting Lyme disease with gene editing

Cummings School and MIT are working with Massachusetts citizens to deploy immune mice as frontline soldiers in the war against the disease.
Article Research

Part 1: Gene Drive; Part 2: Gene Drive and Local Drive

iBiology features two introductory classes from CRISPR expert Kevin Esvelt, head of the Media Lab's Sculpting Evolution group.
Article Research

Gene drive should be a nonprofit technology

Unlike a normal edit, gene drive systems could lastingly alter or suppress local or global populations of a target species.
Article Research

A controversial virus study reveals a critical flaw in how science is done

After researchers resurrected a long-dead pox, some critics argue that it's too easy for scientists to make decisions of global consequence.
Article Research

Taming "information hazards" in synthetic biology research

Cryptography techniques to screen synthetic DNA could help prevent the creation of dangerous pathogens, argues Professor Kevin Esvelt
Article Research

When Are We Obligated To Edit Wild Creatures?

Given the power to alter the workings of the natural world, are we morally obligated to use it?
Article Research

I'm Kevin Esvelt, head of the Sculpting Evolution group at the MIT Media Lab and an inventor of CRISPR gene drive - AMA!

I'm a strong advocate of more open science, and my group tries to carefully consider our moral obligations and publicly admit mistakes.
Article Research

Gene Editing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Scientists are developing new ways to alter the genetic code of living organisms. John Oliver explores the risks and rewards.
Article Research

The public doesn’t trust GMOs. Will it trust CRISPR?

There’s a huge opportunity to improve agriculture with gene editing. But we need to give CRISPR a chance.
Article Research

A genetically modified organism could end malaria and save millions of lives — if we decide to use it

The debate over whether to use genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria, explained.
Article Research

Can we make life?

A revolution in gene editing enables scientists to create and edit DNA like never before.
Post Research

Aotearoa: Mistakes and Amends

By Kevin EsveltResearchers should hold themselves morally accountable for all of the consequences of their work. That can require publ…
Article Research

MIT researchers propose release of genetically engineered mice on Nantucket

NANTUCKET, Mass. -- On the picturesque island of Nantucket, residents are considering a radical approach to fight a disease that's haunted …
Article Research

Ten researchers from MIT and Broad receive NIH Director’s Awards

Awards support high-risk, high-impact biomedical research.
Article Research

Could genetically engineered mice reduce Lyme disease?

Lyme disease has become part of daily life for residents on the rural Massachusetts islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, where the t…
Article Research

Plan to Make Sure Gene Editing Doesn't Go Haywire

Kevin Esvelt argues that the tremendous power of CRISPR can only be contained if scientists are open about their research.
Article Research

This technology could stop the world’s deadliest animal

The capabilities of “gene drive” are thrilling—and also terrifying.
Article Research

Voters to decide on intro of altered mice to combat Lyme

Residents are invited to weigh in on a plan to release genetically-modified mice on Nantucket to combat tick-borne diseases
Article Research

Lyme disease is spreading, and it’s partly this mouse’s fault

Black-legged ticks in forests of the Northeast and Midwest have a variety of options for the three blood meals they consume in their lifeti…
Post Research

Daisy drive: A local, open, and community-responsive approach to solving ecological problems

Pursue modular "daisy drive" platforms with the potential to safely, efficiently, and reversibly edit local sub-populations of organisms
Article Research

Transparency advocate shakes up genetic engineering

Kevin Esvelt has emerged as a leader in the debate about the ethics and politics of releasing genetically engineered animals.
Article Research

Cracking the Genetic Code with Kevin Esvelt

Kevin Esvelt leads the Sculpting Evolution Group at MIT. Their work explores “evolutionary and ecological engineering and responsive science
Article Research

How Frankenstein’s Monster Became Sexy

Recent adaptations of the classic novel have transformed the creature from grotesque to irresistible.

Article Research

Kevin Esvelt to Join the MIT Media Lab
Article Research

Strategies for Responsible Gene Editing: Op-Ed by Kevin Esvelt