Jennifer inherited a passion for reading from her mother, who often had an Agatha Christie detective novel on her nightstand. Living alone in Maine while in graduate school, Jen spent her nights engrossed in any and every thriller she could get her hands on. Currently one of her favorite pastimes is to meet with her neighborhood book club, where she is constantly being introduced to new worlds. She has published in scientific journals, as well as written a customized text for a course she teaches, but this is her first foray into writing fiction.

Much of the story of KRISPR is her story. Handler was born and raised in Cleveland but spent time as a young researcher at the prestigious Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, living apart from her new husband. Raising her family in the Midwest, she accompanied her teen-aged daughter to New York City where she participated in an international modeling competition, and later moved her into her dorm at a university in Midtown Manhattan. As a professor, Handler has a real sense of what its like to be a college student in the 21st century. She also has the training and expertise to understand and make relatable technologies in genetics and neuroscience. And she has personally experienced the heart-wrenching and devastating effects of Alzheimer’s Disease as she witnessed her dad suffer from it for several years prior to his passing.

Jennifer Handler is the author’s pen name, as her real name isn’t so easy to pronounce and remember:)