Uncategorized

Huge congratulations to Moritz on the successful defense of his PhD thesis! His outstanding and dedicated work led to the development of scOUT-seq (single-cell Outcomes Using Transcript sequencing), a powerful and scalable technology that enables joint profiling of transcriptomes and matched multi-allelic editing outcomes. Great job, Dr. Schlapansky!

X Close

Marie received her PhD in Life Sciences jointly from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute in January 2025, where she worked with Dr Stephen West. In October 2025, Marie joined the Corn Lab as a postdoctoral researcher to apply gene-editing technologies to explore the dark genome. Her broader research interests include protein homeostasis in human health and genetic approaches to study protein quality-control mechanisms.

X Close

Tabea received her MSc in Cell Biology from ETH Zurich in June 2024. She joined the Corn Lab in October 2025 as a PhD student investigating the interplay between epigenetics and the DNA damage response. Her research interests include DNA repair, functional genomics and genome editing technologies.

X Close

Kasandra Balzaretti obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) in 2024. She is currently enrolled in the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Master’s program at ETH Zurich. In spring 2025, Kasandra completed a semester project in the Corn Lab, and in October she returned to the lab to begin her Master’s thesis, which focuses on characterizing the mechanisms and kinetics of the DNA damage response in mature post-mitotic neurons.

X Close

SWISSPR 2025, hosted by the Corn, Platt, Schwank, and Jinek labs, was a fantastic retreat that brought together cutting-edge CRISPR research at Seminarhotel Lihn in Canton Glarus. Our labs proudly presented innovative projects, while hands-on workshops sparked lively discussions and new collaborations. The event wrapped up with a scenic hike through the breathtaking summer landscapes—a perfect end to an inspiring few days.

A huge thank you to everyone who made it happen!

X Close

Dora obtained her Master’s degree in Chemistry from ETH Zurich in 2019, where she conducted research on the Synthesis of trypanothione reductase inhibitors in the Diederich group (Chem. Eur. J., 2019) and Templated length-controlled oligomerization in the Wennemers group (Faraday Discuss., 2023). In May 2025, Dora joined the Corn Lab as a PhD student to investigate how cells sense and respond to genetic perturbations. Her research focuses on uncovering how transcriptional adaptation shapes phenotypic variability and contributes to disease-relevant traits.

X Close

Dominic Mailänder received his Master’s degree in Molecular Health Sciences from ETH Zurich in 2024. Dominic returned to the Corn Lab as a Research Technician in April 2025. His current work centers on the development and automation of a high-throughput CRISPR off-target detection protocol.

X Close

Proteins are essential building blocks of life, but they can become toxic to our cells if damaged, for example under oxidative stress. In turn, human cells selectively remove damaged proteins to maintain a healthy proteome. But how can cells identify individual damaged proteins among thousands of intact ones? An old hypothesis states that cells scan the proteome for chemical modifications that occur, for example, when proteins break. Are you interested in learning more about how cells combat chemical protein damage?

Have a look at our newest research breakthrough, led by postdoc Matthias Muhar in a collaboration with Jakob Farnung from the Bode group (D-CHAB) as well as with Jessberger group (UZH), Jinek group (UZH), Mann group (Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry) Germany   and Schulman group (Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry, Germany).

In this study, using a semi-synthetic chemical biology approach coupled to cellular assays, we found that C-terminal amide-bearing proteins (CTAPs) are rapidly cleared from human cells.

To identify the cellular machinery underlying CTAP clearance, we utilized a genome-wide CRISPR screen for genes that are responsible for specific degradation of C-terminally amidated proteins. We identified SCF–FBXO31 ubiquitin ligase as a key reader of C-terminal amides, marking CTAPs for proteasomal degradation. With a conserved binding pocket, FBXO31 exhibits remarkable selectivity, binding C-terminal peptides with amides while excluding non-modified proteins. This mechanism allows cell to remove CTAPs, which form when proteins break under under oxidative stress. Intriguingly, a human mutation linked to neurodevelopmental disorders alters FBXO31’s substrate recognition, leading to toxicity. These findings suggest CTAPs may represent a new class of modified amino acid degrons (MAADs) that mark proteins for removal by reader proteins and downstream effectors, offering insights into selective surveillance of chemically damaged proteins.

In conclusion, this research uncovered new signals for protein clearance and advanced our understanding of cellular protein quality control.

For more info check out our new paper in Nature!

X Close

On September 18-19 2024, the Corn Lab hosted an engaging in-person DDREAMM team retreat in Zurich, bringing together researchers for two days of scientific presentations, fruitful discussions, and the exchange of fresh ideas. The event highlighted synergies between the Jackson/Corn lab and fostered brainstorming sessions focused on the latest technologies, scientific advancements, and the evolving landscape of publications in the era of AI and preprints.

Participants also enjoyed valuable networking opportunities, including a scenic hike from Uetliberg to Felsenegg, offering breath-taking views of Zurich and its surroundings.

The retreat was highly effective, sparking new collaborations.

X Close

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is widely used to introduce targeted mutations in cells and organisms. During the gene editing process, Cas enzymes induces a double-strand break at a target genomic site that is subsequently repaired by on of two mechanisms: error-prone nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) that results in genomic insertions and deletions (indels), or templated homology-directed repair (HDR) to precisely insert, delete, or replace a genomic sequence.  Have you ever wondered why CRISPR-Cas mediated HDR editing is so efficient in some cells but terribly inefficient in others? Struggling with gene editing in your cells? We’ve got the solution you’ve been looking for!

We are excited to announce a significant advancement in our understanding of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated HDR through genome-wide screening conducted in Fanconi anemia (FA) patient lymphoblastic cell lines. Our research led by Postdoc Erman Karasu uncovered a single suppressor of CRISPR-Cas9 mediated HDR, revealing that exonuclease TREX1 plays a critical role in reducing HDR efficiency when the repair template is either single-stranded or linearized double-stranded DNA. TREX1 expression serves as a biomarker for CRISPR-Cas9-mediated HDR, and high levels of TREX1, observed in various cell types including U2OS, Jurkat, MDA-MB-231, primary T cells, and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), are predictive of poor HDR outcomes. Moreover, we have demonstrated that HDR efficiency can be significantly improved, by 2- to 8-fold, through either knockout of TREX1 or the use of chemically protected single-stranded DNA templates that are resistant to TREX1 activity. Namely, phosphorothioate 3’ end protection is sufficient for fast inexpensive improvements to HDR in contexts with appreciable TREX1 expression. These strategies offer promising avenues for enhancing CRISPR-Cas9–mediated HDR, particularly in cell types with high TREX1 expression.

Overall, our data sheds mechanistic light on why donor template protection increases HDR, provide a concrete biomarker for the targeted use of template protection, and resolve long-standing confusion around why editing works like a breeze in some cells, but fails miserably in others. This breakthrough holds substantial potential for advancing research and therapeutic applications.

For more, check out our paper, it is now out in Nature Biotechnology!

Don’t miss the explainer video highlighting Erman’s work!

X Close