Beth Shapiro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beth Shapiro
Shapiro in 2010
Born	Beth Alison Shapiro (1976-01-14) January 14, 1976 (age 49) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Georgia (BA, MA) University of Oxford (PhD)
Known for	How to Clone a Mammoth
Awards	AAA&S Fellow (2023) MacArthur Fellowship (2009) Royal Society University Research Fellowship (2006) Rhodes Scholarship National Academy of Sciences
Scientific career
Fields	Ancient DNA Genomics Molecular ecology
Institutions	University of California, Santa Cruz University of Oxford Pennsylvania State University
Thesis	Inferring evolutionary history and processes using ancient DNA (2003)
Doctoral advisor	Alan J. Cooper

Beth Alison Shapiro, born on January 14, 1976, is an American scientist. She studies how living things change over time, especially at the tiny molecular level. She works at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute and is also a researcher for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In March 2024, Dr. Shapiro started a three-year break from teaching. She became the chief scientific officer at a company called Colossal Biosciences.

Dr. Shapiro's main work involves studying ancient DNA. This is DNA from very old plants or animals. She received a special award called a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 2006. In 2009, she won a MacArthur Fellowship, which is a very important award. In 2025, she was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Beth Shapiro's Early Life and School

Beth Shapiro was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on January 14, 1976. She grew up in Rome, Georgia. When she was in high school, she even worked as a local news presenter.

In 1994, Dr. Shapiro finished Rome High School with excellent grades. She then went to the University of Georgia. She studied many subjects like Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English literature, and geology. Later, she decided to focus on ecology, which is the study of how living things interact with their environment.

In 1999, she graduated with high honors. She earned two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts, both in ecology. In the same year, she won a Rhodes Scholarship. This allowed her to study at the University of Oxford in England.

In 2003, Dr. Shapiro earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oxford. Her research was about understanding how living things have changed over time. She used ancient DNA to learn about this. Her advisor was a scientist named Alan J. Cooper.

Beth Shapiro's Amazing Career

In 2004, Dr. Shapiro became a research fellow at the University of Oxford. She also directed the Henry Wellcome Biomolecules Centre there until 2007. In 2006, she received the Royal Society University Research Fellowship. While at the Biomolecules Centre, she studied the mitochondrial DNA of the dodo. The dodo was a bird that is now extinct.

Dr. Shapiro's research on ecology has been published in important science magazines. These include Molecular Biology and Evolution, PLOS Biology, Science, and Nature. In 2007, Smithsonian magazine named her one of the top young American innovators.

In 2024, Dr. Shapiro became the chief science officer at Colossal Biosciences. This company works to bring back extinct animals and help save species that are in danger. In the same year, Dr. Shapiro shared her scientific opinion that bringing dinosaurs back to life is not possible. This is different from how it's shown in movies like Jurassic Park. Some fans of the movies disagreed with her.

In 2025, Colossal Biosciences announced they had created "woolly mice." This was part of their work to bring back mammoths. Some people, like philosopher Craig Callender, called this a "stunt." Dr. Shapiro explained that gene editing can help animals in many ways. It can make them resistant to diseases. It can also help restore missing genetic information.

Also in 2025, Colossal announced they had brought back "dire wolves." Some scientists questioned if this was truly accurate. However, Dr. Shapiro defended the claim. She said it was a dire wolf and not a gray wolf. As part of this project, Colossal also cloned several red wolves. Red wolves are an American species that are very endangered. Dr. Shapiro hopes that bringing back dire wolves will make people excited about using new science to help save animals.

She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Awards and Recognitions