Addgene is a nonprofit biological resource organization that accelerates scientific discovery by providing researchers worldwide with access to well-documented, high-quality plasmids (circular DNA vectors) and associated materials. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Addgene President and Executive Director Chonnettia Jones to gain a deeper understanding of the nonprofit.
Chonnettia Jones’ Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Jones said:
“I trained as a scientist in the US and hold a PhD in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University. Over the last two decades I’ve worked for mission-oriented organizations that support science and health-related research. Having worked with scientists around the world, I understand both the enablers of, and barriers to, discovery and innovation. I was drawn to Addgene because of its well-regarded reputation of helping scientists by reducing barriers to access high-quality research materials. My role now is to build on Addgene’s success over twenty years and amplify its impact by pursuing new opportunities to empower scientists in a rapidly evolving landscape for research.”
Formation Of Addgene
How did the idea for the nonprofit come together? Jones shared:
“The idea for Addgene was inspired by challenges one of the founders faced as a scientist trying to obtain plasmids for her graduate research—many requests went unanswered or took months. She realized those scientists wanted to share their research materials, but they lacked the time or infrastructure. She and her co-founders had the formidable foresight to see how a central repository could accelerate discovery and innovation by streamlining the process and making it easier for scientists to share research materials with other scientists. Founded in 2004, Addgene was a pioneer in scientific sharing by building one of the world’s largest repositories containing high-quality expertly curated plasmids developed by thousands of scientists around the world. Our co-founder, Melina Fan, remains deeply involved today as our Chief Innovation Officer.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Jones reflected:
“I have several favorite memories, but I’ll choose a recent one. Addgene is delighted to have contributed to the NIH BRAIN Armamentarium projects that resulted in the creation and dissemination of next-generation tools with remarkable precision in brain research allowing for studying how different cell types contribute to both healthy brain function and disease. This was made possible through a collaborative effort among researchers across 29 institutions and demonstrates what’s possible when scientific communities work together toward solving our most pressing health challenges.”
Core Services
What are the core services? Jones explained:
“Addgene’s repository holds three types of products, or research materials: plasmid DNA and plasmid-derived viral vectors and recombinant antibodies. By depositing their novel tools for research with Addgene, scientists enable other scientists to easily access these materials for their own experiments. These cutting-edge research materials advance discovery and innovation in a wide range of disciplines and fields.”
“Addgene works with technology transfer offices at the depositing scientists’ institutions to ensure the smooth and rapid transfer of their materials to us. We track everything from the moment a scientist lets us know they want to deposit a material, to the moment it’s received by the recipient lab.. Once we receive the materials from depositing scientists, we put the materials through a robust quality control process – which includes sequencing genetic information (DNA) contained in the material.”
“Then any scientist around the world can find the materials in our online catalog. They simply search our website for the plasmids, viral vectors and antibodies they need for their research. Our online ordering system makes it easy for researchers to request any material. Our team of scientists are ready to answer any questions they have. Working with multiple shipping carriers and distribution partners we work to make sure that materials get to requesting scientists quickly.”
“Addgene’s website also hosts a data hub to collect information about viral vector and antibody experiments. This information is important – not only because it helps scientists to understand how to use the tools in our repository, but to maximize reproducibility and the potential impact of their research as their materials may be used for many different research applications.”
“Addgene’s approach over 20 years has earned the trust of scientists across the world, and we now distribute 158,782 plasmids on behalf of 6,463 labs globally.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Jones acknowledged:
“The recent sweeping cuts to scientific funding represent an unprecedented challenge to the research ecosystem in the United States and beyond. These changes threaten to slow transformative biological discoveries and life-saving medical breakthroughs and undermine critical research infrastructure that has taken decades to establish. As an organization that collaborates with federally funded researchers and receives grant support ourselves to share tools for research, we are deeply concerned about these developments.”
“Despite these challenges, Addgene remains committed to helping scientists do their research more easily, quickly and reproducibly. In fact, our role as a nonprofit resource for the research community is even more vital during this period of constrained funding. We are uniquely positioned to support research institutions to extend their increasingly limited resources. For example, we can serve as a trusted resource for archiving their biological materials during funding transitions, and they can access authenticated materials at a fraction of the cost of creating and verifying them independently. We offer high-quality DNA sequencing, viral vector preparations, and antibody production that labs may find increasingly difficult to maintain or access. Our eBooks, videos, science guides, and protocols remain freely accessible to all researchers.”
Evolution Of Addgene’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Jones noted:
“The expansion of our services has always been driven by the scientific community’s needs. For example, we saw a growing need for antibodies and viral vectors that were authenticated and easily accessible. Because viral vectors and recombinant antibodies are derived from plasmids, they are a natural extension of the services that Addgene is already well-known for.”
“Recombinant antibodies are excellent for reproducibility. We recognized that major field initiatives, like human brain mapping, rely on large amounts of antibodies. We were confident that by offering recombinant antibodies with open sequences, Addgene would be able to enhance the reproducibility and feasibility of these efforts, and additional research fields in the future.”
“Viral vectors are not only complex to use, but also difficult to produce and verify the identity and quality of the prep. This was a large factor in Addgene’s decision to launch our viral vector service. We realized we could apply the lessons learned from our plasmid lab to develop a reliable and robust high-quality viral vector service, making an array of ready-to-use viral vectors available to researchers around the world.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Jones cited:
“Addgene has played a pivotal role in rapid adoption of CRISPR technologies. When CRISPR was invented, the co-inventors deposited CRISPR tools with Addgene. This enabled the rapid adoption and modification of CRISPR tools for a variety of gene editing applications. With over 15,000 CRISPR plasmids in our collection, we’ve facilitated over 300,000 shipments to nearly 5,000 different organizations around the world. This widespread distribution has empowered researchers globally to engage in genome editing, fostering innovation and collaboration in the scientific community.”
“Another example is when scientists turned to Addgene during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Addgene’s repository supported discovery efforts to combat COVID-19 by making SARS-CoV-2 research materials available to the scientific community. Addgene worked closely with legal partners and Tech Transfer Offices at universities to make COVID-19 research-related plasmids available more broadly: to scientists in academia and industry. Our depositors recognized the urgency to develop novel vaccines to fight the pandemic, and over 90% of Addgene’s COVID-19 resources became available to industry scientists as a result.”
“In the realm of neuroscience, we’re proud to support the dissemination of advanced tools like engineered adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs). These vectors enable researchers to target specific brain cell types, facilitating studies on neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and ALS. By collaborating with groups developing these cutting-edge tools, Addgene contributes to breakthroughs in understanding and treating brain diseases.”
Success Stories
When asking Jones about success stories, she highlighted:
“One of the most rewarding parts of our work is seeing the real-world impact our depositors have when their tools are widely used by the scientific community. Researchers tell us that it’s incredibly meaningful to know their plasmids are enabling discoveries far beyond their own labs. To recognize this, we created the Blue Flame Award, which we give when a plasmid has been distributed more than 100 times—an indicator that it’s become a valuable community resource. Nearly 1,000 depositors have earned this distinction. Furthermore, we add a citation list to each material so the community can see how tools are being used in published research and better understand their applications.”
Funding
When asking Jones about the nonprofit’s funding, she revealed:
“Addgene’s operations are funded directly by the distribution of research materials. New initiatives at Addgene are often made possible by grants and a collection of sponsors whose generous funding and donations support our mission to serve the scientific community. Our sponsors have included the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, The Kavli Foundation, Alnylam, and New England Biolabs. We are structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.”
Differentiation From Other Nonprofits
What differentiates the nonprofit from others? Jones affirmed:
“Addgene is a purpose-built scientific platform to accelerate research & discovery at global scale. Our status as a nonprofit organization committed to scientific sharing has helped us to grow a large international network of scientists who voluntarily choose to deposit new materials for research with Addgene. Addgene curates the most innovative tools in science, contributed by leading researchers and institutions worldwide.”
“Addgene’s strategic decisions are driven by our mission to empower researchers and foster a globally connected scientific community to unlock the full potential of research. All proceeds generated from distributing materials are channeled back into our operations — enabling us to continue to serve scientists.”
Future Goals
What are some of Addgene’s future goals? Jones emphasized:
“At Addgene, we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt in response to the needs of the scientific community. We saw the success of our plasmid sharing service and recognized that researchers needed viral vector and recombinant antibody services built from the same approach, so we launched our viral vector and recombinant antibody services.”
“We continue to see an appetite for offerings rooted in flexibility, so we are expanding our catalog to offer packaged-on-request viral vectors, and we are currently exploring capabilities for customizable reagents.”
“For much of Addgene’s history, we largely served academic researchers and institutions, but today biotech and industry partners can more comprehensively experience the advantages that we offer. We’re expanding our offerings to better serve the needs of innovators in industry.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Jones concluded:
“Thank you for your interest in Addgene. We’re grateful for your curiosity about our work. One further area I’d like to cover is partnerships.”
“We believe in the power of partnership and are currently engaged with the Institute for Protein Innovation and the Allen Institute toward shared goals.”
“Our partnership with the Institute for Protein Innovation is aimed at accelerating biomedical research and therapeutic development through the discovery, development, and distribution of recombinant antibodies.”
“Through Addgene’s partnership with the Allen Institute, we maintain and distribute thousands of plasmids and numerous viral preps that have been deposited by the Allen Institute for Cell Science and the Allen Institute for Brain Science.”
“We have established strong partnerships with like-minded experts to expand our capabilities in viral vector and antibody development, and we are seeking new partnerships with institutions who share our vision of a globally connected scientific community.”
