--- description: Find out why John Evans is on the TIME100 Health 2026 list. title: TIME100 Health: John Evans image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2f1b9c1d0cab7cf/6998ce47e2d64baf71c60296/T100-Health-2026-Evans.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 11, 2026 # John Evans Realizing gene editing by [Dominique Mosbergen](/author/dominique-mosbergen/) ## Dominique Mosbergen Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Health correspondent  Courtesy of Beam Therapeutics In March 2025, Beam Therapeutics and its CEO John Evans announced the [results](https://investors.beamtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/beam-therapeutics-announces-positive-initial-data-beam-302-phase "undefined") of an early-stage but groundbreaking clinical trial: A single infusion of its gene-editing therapy fixed a genetic mutation in nine people with a debilitating disorder called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) that can cause lung and liver damage. “For the first time in history, we corrected a misspelled gene that was causing disease,” Evans says. Beam’s therapy successfully changed an incorrect DNA letter in the patient’s body through a process known as base editing. That gene will now likely function normally for the rest of their lives, potentially stopping further damage to their lungs and livers, Evans says. Beam has also found preliminary success with another base-editing therapy designed to treat severe sickle-cell disease. The company [said](https://investors.beamtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/beam-therapeutics-reports-updated-data-beacon-phase-12-trial "undefined") in December that early trials of the therapy had helped restore red blood cell health in about 30 patients. “There's been this dream in medicine to be able to work with DNA and have a genetic basis for cures,” says Evans. That dream, he says, is now tantalizingly close to being realized. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362503/john-evans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362503/john-evans/"},"headline":"John Evans","datePublished":"2026-02-11T13:01:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:06:36.299Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362503/john-evans/","keywords":["TIME100 Health 2026","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2f1b9c1d0cab7cf/6998ce47e2d64baf71c60296/T100-Health-2026-Evans.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dominique Mosbergen","jobTitle":"Health correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/dominique-mosbergen/"}],"creator":"Dominique Mosbergen","articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2f1b9c1d0cab7cf/6998ce47e2d64baf71c60296/T100-Health-2026-Evans.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-health-2026/","name":"TIME100 Health 2026"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362503/john-evans/","name":"John Evans"}}]}] ```