Kevin Davies — Curved Air: A Biography of Sickle Cell Anemia and the Quest to Cure the First Molecular Disease - with Swee Lay Thein and LaRae Morning

Kevin Davies presents *Curved Air*, his account of sickle cell anemia’s history and its pivotal connection to human genome editing. The event traces the disease from its origins in sub-Saharan Africa and the first documented case in 1904 through the development of CRISPR-based treatment, while also examining the racial discrimination, medical neglect, and disbelief that sickle cell patients—many of them Black—have faced for generations. Davies is joined in conversation by hematology researcher Swee Lay Thein and LaRae Morning, a public defender and sickle cell patient who took part in a pioneering CRISPR clinical study.

The discussion covers both the scientific breakthroughs and the human cost behind them, including the disease’s status as the first linked to a molecular abnormality and the first diagnosed prenatally through DNA testing. Davies is the executive editor of the *CRISPR Journal* and founding editor of *Nature Genetics*, as well as the author or coauthor of several books on genetics and genome science. Thein leads the Sickle Cell Branch at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and has received major honors in life sciences and medicine. Morning, who was born with sickle cell anemia, became Patient 14 in a CRISPR gene-editing trial in 2021 before pursuing a career in law and public defense.

When: Friday, October 2, 2026

Showtimes: 7:00 p.m.

Tickets: Free admission, with first-come, first-served seating.

Lineup: Kevin Davies in conversation with Swee Lay Thein, MD, DSc, and LaRae Morning.

Venue: Politics and Prose at The Wharf, 610 Water Street SW, Washington, DC 20024.

Accessibility: Accommodation and accessibility requests may be sent to events@politics-prose.com, preferably at least one week before the event. Requests will be considered up to the event start time.

Related book: Copies of *Curved Air: A Biography of Sickle Cell Anemia and the Quest to Cure the First Molecular Disease* are listed at $29.95 for the hardcover edition.