Science & Innovation

By Matthew Herper and Seline Jung
The daughter of two string theorists, Daniela Witten says she didn't go into the family business because she "wasn't smart enough." Instead she became a professor at 26, and is now developing artificial intelligence programs that decipher how genes lead to disease. Since 2000, the cost of sequencing a person's 6 billion DNA letters has dropped from $2 billion to $5,000. The result overwhelmed Scientists. Witten uses machine-learning programs like Google’s and Facebook’s to crunch the data.
  • Kyle Allison
    • 26
    • Graduate Student
    • Boston University
    New ways to kill bacteria that hide dormant in killer biofilms in the body.
  • Rizia Bardhan
    • 29
    • Postdoctoral Candidate
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    Nanotech particles that can diagnose or treat disease; new ways of storing energy.
  • Imre Bartos
    • 29
    • Graduate Student
    • Columbia University
    Diverse dude: Not only studies black hole formation, but also the physics of mosquito eyes.
  • John Calarco
    • 29
    • Bauer Fellow, FAS Center for Systems Biology
    • Harvard University
    Studies how different readouts of the same genetic code affect the development of the nervous system.
  • Mozziyar Etemadi
    • 25
    • Graduate Student, Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences
    • University of California, San Francisco
    Developing a mobile device to detect pre-term labor in high-risk pregnancies and alert the physician via the cloud.
  • Jeremy England
    • 29
    • Assistant Professor of Physics
    • MIT
    Studies the physics behind how proteins fold, cells develop, and other fundamental biological processes.
  • Christina Fan
    • 28
    • Senior Scientist
    • ImmuMetrix
    Began work on a new, non-invasive test for Down syndrome.
  • James Fraser
    • 29
    • QB3 Fellow
    • University of California, San Francisco
    Uses computation and biophysics to discover mutations that cause disease.
  • Chris Harrison
    • 26
    • Graduate Student
    • Carnegie Mellon University
    Developing new, futuristic user interfaces that could allow computers as small as matchbooks to have big displays.
  • Jeffrey Kidd
    • 28
    • Assistant Professor, Department of Human Genetics
    • University of Michigan.
    Using DNA sequencing to understand what forces shape evolution in human beings and animals.
  • Heather Knight
    • 28
    • Chief Executive
    • Marilyn Monrobot
    Creating interactive theater using robotics.
  • Raj Krishnan
    • 29
    • Chief Executive
    • CEO, Biological Dynamics, Inc.
    Developing blood tests that use electric fields to detect key signals that a patient has cancer from the blood.
  • Marc Lajoie
    • 26
    • Graduate Student
    • Harvard University
    Powerful new methods to change many of an organism’s genes at once could kick-start genome engineering.
  • Uri Laserson
    • 28
    • Founder
    • Good Start Genetics
    DNA sequencing pioneer helped found company that tests parents for genetic diseases they might pass to their kids.
  • Albert Mach
    • 25
    • Graduate Student
    • UCLA
    His centrifuge on a chip that could provide a rapid way to detect cancer via a blood test.
  • Ciara Metcalfe
    • 28
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
    • Genentech
    Studying stem cell hidden in the intestine to search for new drugs for people.
  • Jean-Baptiste Michel
    • 29
    • Visiting Faculty
    • Google
    Generating new insights into the evolution of human language and culture by analyzing millions of books.
  • Christopher Morgan & Leigh Anne Ihnken
    • 29, 29
    • Research Scientists
    • GlaxoSmithKline
    Making pharmaceutical chemistry less expensive and less harmful to the environment.
  • Sarah Ng
    • 27
    • Graduate Student
    • University of Washington
    Use of DNA sequencing to find the genes that cause rare diseases.
  • Bryan Parno
    • 29
    • Researcher
    • Microsoft
    Making computers more secure by combining cryptography with hardware and software on one device to protect others, too.
  • Steven T. Piantadosi
    • 27
    • Postdoctorate Student, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
    • University of Rochester
    Understanding the way human beings use an innate understanding of probability to grasp new or ambiguous concepts.
  • Cary L. Pint
    • 29
    • Research Scientist, Extreme Technologies Research Group
    • Intel Corporation
    Nanotube supercapacitors for creating high energy batteries.
  • Christopher Rogan
    • 28
    • Graduate Student
    • Caltech
    His research using the Large Hadron Collider test plumb fundamental balances between quantum particles.
  • Jessie Rosenberg
    • 25
    • Research Staff Member, Silicon Photonics Team
    • IBM TJ Watson Research Center
    Graduated college at 17; now uses optical technology to make faster, better computer chips.
  • David Simmons-Duffin
    • 27
    • Graduate Student
    • Harvard University
    Theoretical physicist creating mathematical models of the similarity (dubbed supersymmetry) between quantum particles.
  • Ryan Tewhey
    • 29
    • Graduate Student
    • University of California, San Diego
    Using DNA sequencing to figure out what makes the MRSA super-germ so very deadly and hard to kill.
  • Harris Wang
    • 28
    • Wyss Fellow
    • Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
    Creating synthetic bacteria to study and combat human diseases in the digestive system and on the skin.
  • Christian Wentz
    • 25
    • Founder
    • Cerenova, Kendall Research
    New ways to analyze brain data; founder, two biotechs.
  • Jodie Wu
    • 24
    • Founder, Chief executive
    • Global Cycle Solutions
    Her company redesigns bicycles to thresh corn and do other agricultural jobs in rural Tanzania where electricity is scarce.