Beth Shapiro, chief science officer of Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences, might be most famous for the company's current controversial mission to de-extinct the woolly mammoth in 2028. Colossal made news in April with the announcement that it had used genetic engineering to bring back the ancient dire wolf, and it intends to do the same for other species, including the dodo and the Tasmanian tiger. But Shapiro, who specialized in ancient DNA research at Oxford University, Penn State University, and elsewhere, also uses her gene-editing skills to help protect endangered species like the red wolf and the Asian elephant. The same genetic engineering tools behind the de-extinction of vanished species can be used to breed hardiness or greater genetic variety into existing ones threatened with extinction.
Shapiro believes that we owe this to both the Earth and to ourselves. "Conservation isn't just about saving species, but about maintaining the ecological conditions that protect human health," she wrote to TIME, noting that the ecosystem collapse that results from extinction also breeds animal diseases that have been known to jump to humans. Beyond that, the science she is leading at Colossal has applications in human health. Her team uses organoid models to experiment with the effects of gene editing on real tissue outside of a living animal—but that can also be done for humans.
"Vascularized organoids develop into complex structures that are physiologically relevant models for studying diseases," she says. "Because they can be grown from a particular individual, [they can be used for] testing personalized treatments for cancers and other diseases."