The Scientific Team Behind Colossal’s Dire Wolf Success

The successful de-extinction of the dire wolf represents not just a technological breakthrough but also a triumph of collaborative scientific expertise. Behind Colossal Biosciences’ historic achievement stands a remarkable team of researchers, each bringing specialized knowledge that proved essential to the complex multidisciplinary challenge of bringing back an extinct species.

Leadership and Vision

At the helm of Colossal’s scientific efforts is Dr. Beth Shapiro, the company’s Chief Science Officer and a world-renowned expert in ancient DNA research. Recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Shapiro brings decades of experience in paleogenomics – the study of ancient genomes – to Colossal’s work.

As a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz and former Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator, Shapiro has pioneered methods for recovering and analyzing DNA from ancient specimens. Her expertise in ancient DNA recovery and analysis was crucial for extracting and interpreting genetic material from dire wolf fossils.

Shapiro’s scientific approach emphasizes both technical rigor and conservation relevance. “What conservation needs is bold ideas and bold action,” she has stated. “This breakthrough showcases that humans are capable of both. We can use biotechnologies to speed up the processes of selection and adaptation.”

The Founding Scientific Vision

Dr. George Church, Harvard geneticist and Colossal co-founder, provided the foundational scientific framework that made de-extinction possible. A professor at Harvard and MIT who runs the Church lab at Harvard Medical School, Church has been at the forefront of genomic innovation for decades.

Church articulated the scientific significance of the dire wolf achievement: “Preserving, expanding, and testing genetic diversity should be done well before important endangered animal species like the Red Wolf are lost. Another source of ecosystem variety stems from our new technologies to de-extinct lost genes, including deep ancient DNA sequencing, polyphyletic trait analyses, multiplex germline editing, and cloning.”

His reference to the dire wolf as “an early example of this, including the largest number of precise genomic edits in a healthy vertebrate so far – a capability that is growing exponentially” highlights how the scientific achievement opens doors for future conservation applications.

Genomic Expertise

The dire wolf de-extinction required extraordinary expertise in genomics and bioinformatics to reconstruct and analyze ancient genomes from fragmentary fossils. This work was conducted by a team of specialized researchers featured in the recently published paper “On the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf.”

Gregory Gedman was the lead author on this crucial research paper, which generated “3.4× and 12.8× paleogenomes from two well-preserved dire wolves dating to > 13,000 and > 72,000 years ago, and estimated consensus species trees for these and 10 canid species.”

This groundbreaking genomic research revealed that approximately two-thirds of dire wolf ancestry derives from a lineage sister to gray wolves, coyotes, and dholes, while the remaining third comes from a lineage near the base of Canini diversity. This discovery fundamentally changed scientific understanding of dire wolf evolution and provided the foundation for the successful de-extinction effort.

Animal Care Leadership

The successful birth and development of the dire wolf pups required specialized expertise in animal care and welfare. Matt James, Colossal’s Chief Animal Officer and Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation, brought extensive experience in exotic animal management to this role.

With over 13 years of experience in exotic animal husbandry and welfare from his previous roles as Senior Director of Animal Care at the Dallas Zoo and Zoo Miami, James led the development of protocols for the care of the unique dire wolves.

“Colossal’s successful de-extinction of the dire wolf represents a massive coup for conservation,” James has stated. “The technologies developed on the path to the dire wolf are already opening up new opportunities to rescue critically endangered canids.”

His expertise in managing complex animal care operations has been essential for establishing the specialized 2,000+ acre facility where the dire wolves now reside and for assembling the team of ten full-time animal care staff dedicated to the wolves’ physical and mental well-being.

Bioethics Leadership

The ethical dimensions of de-extinction work required specialized expertise in bioethics. Alta Charo, J.D., Professor Emerita of Law & Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, serves as Colossal’s Head of Bioethics, bringing decades of experience in biotechnology policy and ethics.

Charo has articulated the ethical framework for Colossal’s de-extinction work: “Whether due to natural or human-induced changes in climate, habitat and food source, the extinction of untold number of species is a loss to our planet’s history and biodiversity. Modern genetics lets us peer into the past, and modern genetic engineering lets us recover what was lost and might yet thrive.”

Her involvement ensures that Colossal’s scientific innovations are developed within a carefully considered ethical framework that addresses the complex moral questions raised by de-extinction technology.

Scientific Advisory Board

Beyond its core staff, Colossal benefits from the expertise of a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board that includes leaders in multiple relevant fields.

Dr. Christopher Mason, Professor of Genomics, Physiology, and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine, serves on this advisory board and has highlighted the significance of the dire wolf achievement: “The de-extinction of the dire wolf and an end-to-end system for de-extinction is transformative and heralds an entirely new era of human stewardship of life. The same technologies that created the dire wolf can directly help save a variety of other endangered animals as well.”

Dr. Andrew Pask, Professor in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne and leader of Colossal’s thylacine efforts, brings expertise in reproductive biology and developmental genetics to the team. “This project demonstrates the awesome potential for advances in genetic engineering and reproductive technologies to recreate lost diversity,” Pask has noted.

Dr. Elinor Karlsson, Associate Professor in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology at UMass Chan Medical School and Director of Vertebrate Genomics at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has praised Colossal’s approach to genetic engineering: “By choosing to engineer in variants that have already passed evolution’s clinical trial, Colossal is demonstrating their dedication to an ethical approach to de-extinction.”

Conservation Science Collaboration

Colossal’s work extends beyond its immediate team through collaborations with leading conservation scientists. Dr. Bridgett vonHoldt, Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, has worked with Colossal on understanding canid genetics and using this knowledge for conservation.

“We now have the technology that can edit DNA to increase resilience in species that are facing extinction or to revive extinct genetic diversity and species,” vonHoldt has observed. Her research on wild canids, including the “ghost wolves” of the Gulf Coast with remnant red wolf ancestry, has informed Colossal’s approach to both dire wolf de-extinction and red wolf conservation.

Dr. Kristin Brzeski of Michigan Technological University, who co-leads the Gulf Coast Canid Project with vonHoldt, has also collaborated with Colossal. “The tools Colossal has developed for de-extinction will radically improve conservation practitioners’ abilities to ensure population redundancy and genetic viability for dwindling species, thus changing how we conserve endangered wildlife,” Brzeski has noted.

Corporate Leadership

The scientific team’s work has been enabled by the corporate leadership of Ben Lamm, Colossal’s co-founder and CEO. A serial tech entrepreneur focused on solving complex global challenges, Lamm’s vision and ability to assemble funding and resources for ambitious scientific goals has been essential to the dire wolf achievement.

“I could not be more proud of the team. This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works,” Lamm stated. “Our team took DNA from a 13,000 year old tooth and a 72,000 year old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies.”

A Multidisciplinary Achievement

The successful de-extinction of the dire wolf demonstrates the power of bringing together experts across multiple disciplines – from paleogenomics and bioinformatics to reproductive biology, veterinary medicine, and bioethics. This collaborative, multidisciplinary approach reflects the complex nature of the challenge and provides a model for future innovations in conservation and biotechnology.

As Colossal continues to develop its de-extinction platform and applies the technologies pioneered with the dire wolf to both other extinct species and conservation of endangered species, this scientific team will likely continue to expand, bringing in additional expertise to address new challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field.

The dire wolf achievement stands as a testament not just to technological possibility but to the power of bringing together diverse scientific talents in pursuit of a shared goal – creating new tools to address the biodiversity challenges facing our planet.