Who are the rising stars in recent breakthroughs in medical science?

There isn’t an official list of “rising stars” in medicine, and many breakthroughs are the work of large teams. But several researchers have become closely associated with striking advances from the past few years. They aren’t all early-career scientists; “rising” here means their work is helping move a promising idea into clinical practice.

• Haydar Frangoul helped lead clinical trials of exa-cel, a CRISPR-based treatment for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The therapy’s 2023 approvals in the United States and United Kingdom marked a major step for CRISPR treatment for sickle cell disease. The work also depended on many researchers, clinicians, and patients—not one person alone.
• Kiran Musunuru and Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas were among the clinicians and scientists behind a personalized CRISPR treatment developed for an infant with a rare metabolic disorder. The 2025 treatment was an important proof of concept for designing personalized CRISPR treatment for an individual patient, though it remains a very early approach, not a routine option.
• Georg Schett has helped investigate whether CAR-T cells—best known for treating some cancers—can reset immune cells in serious autoimmune conditions. Early results have drawn attention to CAR-T therapy for autoimmune disease, but larger studies and longer follow-up are needed before anyone can know how broadly it will work.
• Tatsuo Kawai and Leonardo Riella were part of the Mass General team involved in the first transplant of a genetically edited pig kidney into a living human recipient, in 2024. This genetically edited pig kidney transplant was an experimental milestone, not evidence that animal organs are ready for standard transplantation.

These examples span gene editing, cell therapy, and transplantation. The most useful way to follow the people behind medical breakthroughs is to watch what happens next: whether early results hold up in larger trials, whether treatment becomes safer and more accessible, and whether independent teams can reproduce the findings.