Profile

CRISPR Cas9 has been described as the greatest biological breakthrough in decades. The hopes resting on this gene editing technology are immense - this week a Swiss drug company announced it is beginning a landmark clinical trial using CRISPR on a patient with a dangerous blood disease. Mark Coles profiles one of the creators of the technology, the American biochemist Jennifer Doudna.

Clarification: In 2018 a federal court confirmed that the patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the Broad Institute, MIT and Harvard concerning CRISPR editing of eukaryotic genomes do not interfere with patent claims filed by the University of California, Berkeley where Jennifer Doudna is based. A new decision in February 2019 has granted Jennifer Doudna and her team the patent at the heart of this intellectual property dispute. Jennifer Doudna and her team have been granted several substantial patents for CRISPR technology.

Presenter: Mark Coles

MP Luciana Berger resigned from the Labour Party this week to join the newly-formed Independent Group. For years she has been the target of sustained anti-Semitic abuse, and has criticised the Labour Party's handling of the issue. One of the reasons she gave for leaving the party is that she has come to view it as "institutionally anti-Semitic”. Her resignation comes within days of her facing a vote of no-confidence in her Liverpool Wavertree constituency, which was withdrawn after a bitter row.

Presenter: Becky Milligan

The transport secretary's critics call him “failing Grayling" - an unkind nickname, perhaps, but one made more likely to stick by his infamous decision to award a valuable contract to a Brexit ferry company with no ferries. He cancelled the contract this week amid much derision in Parliament.

We’re talking buildings and monuments on Profile this week – looking at the life and career of Sir David Adjaye. The 52-year-old British-Ghanaian architect shot to fame in the US for his 2016 Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. An exhibition featuring his work has just opened in London.

Producer: Sally Abrahams

Juan Guaidó - who recently declared himself Venezuela’s president - was elected to the National Assembly in 2011 and won the seat of his home state in 2016. But he only really came to prominence more recently when he was picked to head Venezuela's parliament, the National Assembly.

US President Donald Trump has recognised Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader - as has Canada, Brazil, Australia and the European parliament - but, for now, Nicolás Maduro is showing no signs of giving way.

In this edition of Profile Edward Stourton traces Guaidó’s life and hears from his family, friends and those who have followed his career. Guaidó grew up in the beachside state of Vargas where his family survived the horrendous 1999 mudslide tragedy. Juan’s mother, Norka Marquez, tells Edward how her family lost everything in that disaster.

Producer: Darin Graham

Conservative MP Nick Boles has hatched a plan with Labour's Yvette Cooper to reduce the chances of a 'no deal' Brexit. Their amendment - with cross party support - will be put to the Commons next week. Becky Milligan profiles a rebel who has survived cancer twice and has spent a surprising amount of time throwing shapes on Ibiza dance floors.

Researcher: Darin Graham

There’s only one story this week. People up and down the country are bitterly divided. Yes, it’s the vegan sausage roll. The latest PR-friendly innovation from bakery-turned-fast food chain Greggs. But the success of this faux meat pastry product is just the latest chapter in what is one of the retail turnaround stories of the past decade. Down in the doldrums five years ago these days Greggs is on a – ahem – roll. And it’s largely down to one man, apparently: Roger Whiteside, our subject this week.

Presenter: Mark Coles

On Profile this week, Mark Coles looks at the most powerful woman in American politics – the veteran Democratic congresswoman and new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

It’s a remarkable comeback for her…it puts her third in line to the Presidency itself.

Having first done the job back in 2007 when George W Bush was Commander in Chief – now 78, many thought Pelosi was too old this time round.

We hear from childhood friends, former colleagues and those who’ve followed her career down the decades.

From campaigning for her dad when he was Mayor of Baltimore back in the 1940s to helping President Obama reform American health care, we examine Nancy Pelosi’s life and career and – in these turbulent times – look at the challenges that lie ahead for her.

Producer: Smita Patel

Grime music's biggest star, Stormzy, says he's from a place "where success doesn't happen". But he's had a remarkable rise to fame. Six years ago Stormzy, real name Michael Omari, was working at an oil refinery in Southampton. Now, he's a millionaire. His success began with his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, the first grime record to reach number one. It's not just his music that has made him a household name in the UK. During the 2017 General Election, he lent his support to Jeremy Corbyn and at the Brit Awards last year he used his fame to speak out against the Government's response to Grenfell. This summer Stormzy will be the first grime act to headline at Glastonbury, his performance to beamed to million across the world.

Producer: Oliver Jones

Melania Trump is the second foreign-born First Lady and Donald Trump’s third wife; an ex-model, 24 years his junior, who once posed pregnant in a gold bikini on the steps of her husband’s jet. It was modelling that took Melania from small-town Slovenia to New York and her fateful encounter with the future President. But despite being one of the most recognisable woman in the world she remains something an enigma. So who is Melania Trump? What does she believe? And what might she do on the global stage which – however improbably, given her origins in far away Slovenia – she now shares with the President of the United States?

Presenter: Becky Milligan

Photo by Stane Jerko