Addgene is a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 that facilitates the sharing of plasmids among scientists to enhance collaboration and improve research outcomes. They distribute over 500 plasmids daily and provide support for scientists in depositing, requesting, and receiving plasmids internationally. The organization has significantly impacted the scientific community, particularly in the area of CRISPR technology, by increasing access to essential research materials.

1. Addgene – Helping Scientists Share
Joanne Kamens, PhD
Addgene, Executive Director

2. Addgene’s Mission
Accelerate research and discovery by
improving access to useful research materials
and information
2

3. Addgene Helps Scientists Share Plasmids
Nonprofit, mission-driven organization dedicated to facilitating
collaboration and sharing in the scientific community
We promote this mission by making it easy to share plasmids!

4. Addgene: Then and Now
Founded in 2004
Ken Fan, Benjie Chen
and Melina Fan

5. Filling the Need Supports the Mission
5
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015*
PlasmidsDistributed(#)
Plasmids Distributed by Addgene
Cumulative US
Cumulative Non-US
Currently, over 500 plasmids are distributed each day

6. Easier Collaboration Means Better Science
Requestor benefits
• Quality control
• Curation
• Reproducibility improved
• Plasmid selection/design support
• Request from many labs at once
• International access (>80 countries so far!)
• Timely receipt of materials
6

7. Requested Plasmids by Country

8. Distributor Partnerships for Global Reach
Our distributor in
China solved
shipping/customs
issues here
Customer support for
shipping issues in a
helpful time is zone
available from BZY
Please Email or call
Addgene in the USA
for technical science
support

9. Growth of the Sharing Community
9
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
#ofDepositedPlasmids
#ofDepositingLabs
Labs Depositing and Plasmids Deposited
(*10/1/2015)

10. Deposited Plasmids by Country

11. Easier Collaboration Means Better Science
Depositor benefits
• Quality control
• Reproducibility improved
• Save time on request fulfillment
• Supported international sharing
• Plasmids get more use
• Protection against lab turnover
• Archiving key reagents
• Distribution statistics maintained
• Increased exposure
11

12. Depositing is Easy
Addgene PhD scientists will help during the entire
process
Easy online deposit process or contact Addgene for
help entering data
Can deposit before a paper is published so when the
paper comes out, plasmid numbers are in the
materials and methods
Most new labs start by depositing their most
requested plasmids (or plasmids they think should
be getting more requests)
Addgene takes care of the entire technology transfer
process – scientists do not have to worry about this

13. Demonstrating Impact: Depositing in a Biological
Resource Center Increases Citation Rates
“Climbing Atop the Shoulders of Giants: The Impact of Institutions on Cumulative Research.”
Jeffrey Furman and Scott Stern. American Economic Review 101.5 (2011): 1933–1963.

14. Acknowledging our Depositors
Private PI Account Page 
• Detailed information on requests
(can also get email summaries)
• Tech Transfer Officers see
distribution of all plasmids at their
institution via TTO Acct page
Unique, PI public page

15. Resources and Curation

16. Addgene is Helpful
• 950 scientists who used
Addgene’s customer service.
• Customer service inquiries:
• 74% by email
• 18% by telephone
• 8% by web interface
16
Please rate your experience with
Addgene customer support
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor

17. I think Addgene is fantastic. I will
forward your details to PIs in the
Institute, that way potential plasmid
donors will know you are around.
Depositor, University College Dublin
Scientists Support Collaboration
17
Oh so, you’re not really a
salesperson, you’re here to
make my life easier…
Future depositor, CHOP
“I do science differently
now that I can request
plasmids from Addgene”
Lab head at Yale

18. And Then Came CRISPR

19. The Addgene CRISPR/cas9 Plasmid Collection
>1,000 CRISPR/cas9
plasmids
>100 depositing
laboratories
>50,000 requests
fulfilled
>15,000 requestors in
2,200 universities
Note especially the
CRISPR libraries—a
reagent not usually
made publicly available

20. Genome Engineering Distribution
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
PLASMIDSDISTRIBUTED(#)
ZFN
TALEN
CRISPR
*as of 10/2015

21. CRISPR Plasmids Still Popular

22. International Impact from Cambridge, MA
United States
48%
Japan
9%
China
7%
Germany
6%
Great Britain
5%
Canada
3%
France
2%
Korea (Rep of)
2%
Switzerland
2%
Australia
2%
Rest of World
14%
Distribution of Addgene's Top 20 CRISPR/cas9 Plasmids
by Country
Rest of World =
50 Countries

23. CRISPR/cas9 Plasmid Depositors (so far)
Mario de Bono
Mike Boxem
Simon Bullock
John Calarco
Wenbiao Chen
Qi-Jun Chen
Yonglong Chen
Lionel Christiaen
George Church
Jennifer Doudna
Peter Duchek
Benjamin Ebert
Andrew Fire
Klaus
Foerstemann
Hodaka Fujii
Wataru Fujii
Caixia Gao
Charles Gersbach
Bob Goldstein
Manuel Goncalves
Melissa Harrison
Izuho Hatada
Akitsu Hotta
Bo Huang
Shenglin Huang
Xingxu Huang
Danwei Huangfu
Masahito Ikawa
Tyler Jacks
Rudolf Jaenisch
Keith Joung
Sophien Kamoun
Iskra Katic
Jin-Soo Kim
Masato Kinoshita
Eric Lander
Ji-Long Liu
David Liu
Sebastian Lourido
Timothy Lu
Rene Maehr
Luciano Marraffini
Craig Mello
Eric Mendenhall
Kiran Musunuru
Richard Myers
Kate O'Connor-
Giles
Wayne Parrott
Lei Stanley Qi
David Root
David Sabatini
Moritoshi Sato
Alex Schier
Frank Schnorrer
Jen Sheen
David Sibley
William Simonds
Erik Sontheimer
Paul Sternberg
Robert Stupar
James Thomson
Ron Vale
Jordan Ward
Wensheng Wei
Jonathan
Weissman
Susan Wente
Jill Wildonger
Scot Wolfe
Takashi
Yamamoto
Yinong Yang
Kosuke Yusa
Donald Zack
Mikel Zaratiegui
Feng Zhang
Yunde Zhao
Huimin Zhao
YOUR NAME HERE

24. Rapid Impact in Genome Engineering
Figure from the Genome Biology special
Genome Engineering edition, in press

25. Educational Resources

26. The Community Shares
CRISPR 101: Protocols, Tips, and Advice
CRISPR Software Matchmaker: Choosing the Best CRISPR Software
Cpf1: A New Tool for CRISPR Genome Editing
CRISPR 101: Mammalian Expression Systems and Delivery Methods
Genome-wide Screening Using CRISPR/Cas9
Mapping the 4D nucleome with CRISPR/Cas9
CRISPR 101: Validating Your Genome Edit
Protein Tagging with CRISPR/Cas9: A Conversation with Mendenhall & Myers
A match made in heaven: CRISPR/Cas9 and AAV
Transgenic Organisms, Cas9 Gene Drives, and Appropriate Safeguards
CRISPR 101: Non-Homologous End Joining
CRISPR Protocol for Genomic Deletions in Mammalian Cell Lines [Video]
All-in-One CRISPR/Cas9 Vector System for Multiplex Genome Engineering
etc., etc.
blog.addgene.org

27. Collaboration Speeds Discovery
“The number of scientific papers with CRISPR in
their title rose from 90 in 2012 to 741 (and
counting) this year. That was partly Zhang’s
doing: he has been using a non-profit called
Addgene to distribute genetic and other
material, called reagents, to biologists around
the world.”
-STAT News
“‘The rapid adoption of the Cas9 technology was also
greatly accelerated through a combination of open-
source distributors such as Addgene.’’
-Patrick Hsu, Eric Lander, Feng Zhang Cell 2014

28. Thanks for listening.
Questions?
Please talk with me between
sessions if you have feedback or
questions – Addgene wants to hear
how we can help make things easier
for you.
 Twitter: @addgene
 Facebook: Addgene
 LinkedIn: Addgene
 blog.addgene.org
 help@addgene.org
 617-225-9000