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Kai Chen joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor in January 2026. His research integrates chemical biology, protein engineering, and genome editing to develop molecular tools and delivery platforms for a deeper understanding of biological systems and to advance therapeutic applications. Prior to Penn, he was a postdoctoral researcher in Jennifer Doudna’s lab at UC Berkeley, where he engineered CRISPR-Cas systems and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vehicles to enable precise, tissue-specific genome editing in vivo. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, where he employed directed evolution strategies to expand the catalytic repertoire of natural enzymes, receiving several awards for his work. In his lab at Penn, he will focus on protein gene function and the development of next-generation biomolecular therapeutics.
University of California, Berkeley • Berkeley, CA
Conducted research in Jennifer Doudna's lab focusing on CRISPR-Cas systems and genome editing.
Zhejiang University • Hangzhou, China
Worked on directed evolution and protein engineering projects.
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