Meet the Team Behind Colossal’s Dire Wolf Breakthrough: The Scientists Who Made De-Extinction Reality
When Colossal Biosciences announced on April 7, 2025, that it had successfully resurrected the dire wolf, it marked a historic milestone in genetic science—the first true de-extinction of a species in human history. Behind this extraordinary achievement stands a multidisciplinary team of geneticists, reproductive biologists, paleogenomics experts, and animal care specialists who transformed an ambitious vision into reality.
The successful birth of three healthy dire wolf pups—Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—represents years of meticulous research, technological innovation, and collaborative problem-solving. Here’s a closer look at the key figures whose expertise made this breakthrough possible.
The Visionary Leadership
Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, has provided the entrepreneurial vision and organizational leadership that brought the dire wolf project to fruition. A serial entrepreneur with a background in technology ventures, Lamm co-founded Colossal in 2021 with the ambitious mission of making “extinction optional.”
Following the dire wolf announcement, Lamm expressed pride in the team’s achievement: “I could not be more proud of the team. This massive milestone is the first of many… Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies. It was once said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation.”
Lamm’s leadership has been instrumental in securing the substantial funding required for de-extinction work. In January 2025, even before the wolf announcement, Colossal raised an additional $200 million in financing to accelerate its de-extinction projects.
The Scientific Trailblazers
Dr. George Church, Harvard geneticist and Colossal co-founder, has been a pioneering figure in genomics for decades. His expertise in synthetic biology and genome engineering provided the scientific foundation for the dire wolf project.
Church highlighted the technical significance of the achievement: “This result proves that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works. Delivering 20 precise edits in a healthy animal is the largest number of precise genomic edits in a vertebrate so far—a capability that is growing exponentially.”
As one of the early developers of CRISPR gene-editing technology, Church’s expertise was crucial in advancing the precise genetic modifications required to transform gray wolf cells into dire wolf equivalents.
Dr. Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer and a leading ancient DNA expert, brought critical expertise in paleogenomics—the study of ancient genetic material. Her work has been essential in reconstructing the dire wolf genome from fossilized remains.
Shapiro celebrated the project as “a new standard for paleogenome reconstruction,” explaining that powerful computational tools and DNA recovery techniques allowed the team to link extinct DNA variants to key dire wolf traits.
As the author of “How to Clone a Mammoth,” Shapiro has long been at the forefront of de-extinction science, bringing both technical expertise and thoughtful consideration of the ethical and ecological implications of reviving extinct species.
The Technical Experts
Behind the headline achievement stands a team of specialists who solved countless technical challenges across multiple scientific disciplines:
Ancient DNA Recovery Team: This specialized group developed enhanced extraction protocols to recover usable DNA from a 13,000-year-old dire wolf tooth and a 72,000-year-old dire wolf skull. Working with highly degraded genetic material requires extraordinary care to prevent contamination and to distinguish authentic ancient DNA from modern environmental contaminants.
Computational Genomics Specialists: These bioinformaticians developed algorithms to assemble fragmentary ancient DNA sequences into a complete genome, essentially solving a multimillion-piece puzzle with many missing and damaged pieces. They also conducted comparative analyses with modern wolf genomes to identify the specific genetic changes that give dire wolves their distinctive characteristics.
CRISPR Engineering Team: This group designed and implemented the precise genetic edits required to transform gray wolf cells into dire wolf equivalents. They successfully incorporated 20 genetic variants across 14 genes—a record number of edits for a vertebrate animal. Their work included not just making the primary edits but also engineering around potential problems, such as ensuring coat-color genes wouldn’t cause deafness.
Reproductive Biology Specialists: These experts developed improved protocols for somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning), enhancing success rates significantly above industry standards. They adapted techniques to work specifically with canid reproductive biology and optimized embryo culture conditions.
Veterinary Surgery Team: This group performed the delicate cesarean sections that delivered the dire wolf pups, ensuring the health and safety of both the pups and surrogate mothers. Their expertise in canid obstetrics was essential to the successful births.
The Animal Care Specialists
Once the dire wolf pups were born, a dedicated animal care team took responsibility for their health and development:
Canid Behaviorists: These specialists monitor and document the behavioral development of the pups, noting how their behavior differs from both domestic dogs and modern wolves. Their observations confirm that the revived dire wolves retain wild instincts, maintaining distance from humans and displaying natural wolf behaviors.
Veterinary Medicine Team: This group provides ongoing health monitoring and medical care for the pups, developing protocols specifically tailored to the unique needs of an animal that hasn’t existed for 12,000 years. Their work includes establishing baseline health parameters, vaccination schedules, and nutritional requirements.
Habitat Design Specialists: These experts created the 2,000+ acre protected wildlife facility where the dire wolves now live. The reserve includes natural built dens and enrichment features designed to stimulate instinctual behaviors while ensuring the wolves’ safety and well-being.
Wolf Enrichment Team: Dedicated to ensuring the psychological well-being of the dire wolves, this group develops activities and environmental features that allow the wolves to express natural behaviors. Unlike zoos, which often train animals to interact with humans, the enrichment program emphasizes maintaining the wolves’ wild nature.
The Conservation Connection
Colossal has emphasized that de-extinction technology can directly benefit conservation efforts for endangered species. This connection is embodied by team members focused on translating the dire wolf breakthrough into immediate conservation wins:
Red Wolf Recovery Team: This group successfully applied the techniques developed for the dire wolf project to clone critically endangered red wolves (Canis rufus). They produced four healthy red wolf pups using the same “non-invasive blood cloning” approach, potentially making a significant contribution to recovery efforts for one of North America’s most endangered mammals.
Genetic Rescue Specialists: These scientists are adapting the gene-editing techniques from the dire wolf project to address genetic problems in endangered species. They’re currently working with the pink pigeon, introducing greater genetic diversity into embryos through edited primordial germ cells to improve the species’ health and viability.
Dr. Christopher Mason, a Colossal scientific advisor focused on conservation applications, highlighted this connection: “The same technologies that created the dire wolf can directly help save a variety of other endangered animals as well. This is an extraordinary technological leap for both science and conservation.”
Ethical Oversight and Cultural Perspectives
Alongside the scientific and technical teams, Colossal has incorporated expertise in ethics, animal welfare, and cultural perspectives:
Animal Welfare Compliance Team: This group works closely with the American Humane Society and other oversight organizations to ensure the highest standards of animal care. Their work resulted in American Humane Certification for Colossal’s animal welfare program, with Robin Ganzert, Ph.D., CEO of the American Humane Society, calling the company “a shining example of excellence in humane care.”
Indigenous Advisors: Colossal has sought input from indigenous perspectives on the spiritual and cultural significance of bringing back lost species. Mark Fox, Tribal Chairman of the MHA Nation, has provided insights on how de-extinction connects to traditional ecological knowledge: “The de-extinction of the dire wolf carries the echoes of ancient knowledge that everything in nature is connected. We must respect this balance and understand our responsibility to restore what has been lost.”
Bioethics Specialists: This team addresses the complex ethical questions surrounding de-extinction, developing frameworks for responsible revival and care of extinct species. Their work includes considerations of animal welfare, ecological impact, and resource allocation.
A Collaborative Achievement
What makes the dire wolf resurrection particularly notable is the integration of diverse scientific disciplines that had to work in concert to solve a multifaceted challenge. The project required seamless collaboration between experts who might normally work in separate fields—ancient DNA specialists, CRISPR engineers, reproductive biologists, veterinarians, and wildlife managers.
This collaborative approach has established a template for future de-extinction projects. As Colossal advances toward its next targets—the woolly mammoth, thylacine, and dodo—the interdisciplinary model proven in the dire wolf project will likely be expanded.
The successful birth and development of Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—now approximately 6 months and 3 months old, respectively—provide living confirmation of the team’s achievement. These healthy, thriving animals display the distinctive traits of their extinct ancestors: thick white fur, broad heads, hefty builds, and wild behaviors.
For the scientists and specialists who made this breakthrough possible, the dire wolf project represents not just a scientific milestone but a fundamental shift in humanity’s relationship with extinction. Through their combined expertise, they’ve demonstrated that extinction need not be forever—opening new possibilities for biodiversity conservation in an era of accelerating species loss.
