Current Status of the Princeton Studies Initiated in 2023
The study you are referring to—titled "Schmidt funding awarded to investigations into life’s electrical landscape, miniaturized sensors and gene editing"—comprises three separate, high-risk, high-reward projects funded in May 2023 by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.
Because these projects are designed to be "groundbreaking" and "transformative," they typically operate on a 3-to-5-year timeline before full results or peer-reviewed "atlases" are published. As of early 2026, here is the status of the three specific investigations:
1. Mapping the "Electrome"
Lead Researchers: Daniel J. Cohen and Michelle Chan.
Goal: Creating a high-throughput platform to map how electrical stimulation affects gene activation and cell behavior (like healing).
Current Status: The team is currently in the data-collection and platform-refinement phase. While formal "atlases" for public use have not yet been released, the researchers have been presenting early-stage findings on bioelectric interfaces at genomic and bioengineering conferences.
2. Miniaturized, Atomically Thin Sensors
Lead Researchers: Antoine Kahn and Saien Xie.
Goal: Building the world’s first atomically thin, lightweight imager using 2D materials (transition-metal dichalcogenides) to detect specific light wavelengths without bulky prisms.
Current Status: This project is seeing significant "spin-off" success. In late 2024, co-lead Saien Xie was awarded a Packard Fellowship to further his work on these energy-efficient, atomically thin materials. This suggests the underlying hardware and material synthesis are performing well, though a commercially available "miniaturized sensor" is still in the prototype stage.
3. Precision Gene Editing
Lead Researcher: Nozomu Yachie.
Goal: Developing minimally invasive technology to "write" or delete large fragments of DNA in mammalian species.
Current Status: This work is ongoing. The team is leveraging the Schmidt funding to bridge the gap between "proof-of-concept" in simple cells and application in more complex mammalian models.
The study you are referring to—titled "Schmidt funding awarded to investigations into life’s electrical landscape, miniaturized sensors and gene editing"—comprises three separate, high-risk, high-reward projects funded in May 2023 by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.
Because these projects are designed to be "groundbreaking" and "transformative," they typically operate on a 3-to-5-year timeline before full results or peer-reviewed "atlases" are published. As of early 2026, here is the status of the three specific investigations:
1. Mapping the "Electrome"
Lead Researchers: Daniel J. Cohen and Michelle Chan.
Goal: Creating a high-throughput platform to map how electrical stimulation affects gene activation and cell behavior (like healing).
Current Status: The team is currently in the data-collection and platform-refinement phase. While formal "atlases" for public use have not yet been released, the researchers have been presenting early-stage findings on bioelectric interfaces at genomic and bioengineering conferences.
2. Miniaturized, Atomically Thin Sensors
Lead Researchers: Antoine Kahn and Saien Xie.
Goal: Building the world’s first atomically thin, lightweight imager using 2D materials (transition-metal dichalcogenides) to detect specific light wavelengths without bulky prisms.
Current Status: This project is seeing significant "spin-off" success. In late 2024, co-lead Saien Xie was awarded a Packard Fellowship to further his work on these energy-efficient, atomically thin materials. This suggests the underlying hardware and material synthesis are performing well, though a commercially available "miniaturized sensor" is still in the prototype stage.
3. Precision Gene Editing
Lead Researcher: Nozomu Yachie.
Goal: Developing minimally invasive technology to "write" or delete large fragments of DNA in mammalian species.
Current Status: This work is ongoing. The team is leveraging the Schmidt funding to bridge the gap between "proof-of-concept" in simple cells and application in more complex mammalian models.
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