Lab News

The IGI has been awarded a CIRM Inception Award to use gene editing in bone marrow stem cells in order to discover mechanisms that lead to certain types of blood cancers.  The CIRM Inception Awards provide seed funding to support the exploration of transformational ideas that hold the potential to greatly impact the field of human stem cell research.  The IGI will use genetic engineering to determine how mutations frequently observed in the bone marrow stem cells of patients lead to a family of diseases called meyloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).  The MPN disorders are characterized by over-production of certain blood cells, such as red blood cells or platelets, but it is unclear how patient mutations cause these disorders.  A better understanding of how MPN-associated mutations lead to disease could eventually lead to better therapies for patients suffering from MPN.

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The IGI has been awarded a CIRM grant to develop next-generation sequencing approaches to track gene correction in bone marrow stem cells for the treatment of sickle cell disease. The CIRM Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics (CESCG) Collaborative Research Program (CRP) supports collaborative research projects by providing California scientists with access to cutting-edge genomics and bioinformatics technologies, and expertise and assistance in experimental design and data analysis. Working with CESCG, the IGI will determine how bone marrow stem cells respond to genetic engineering, characterize on- and off-target gene editing in these challenging cells, and work to move research on a gene editing cure for sickle cell disease closer to the clinic.

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IGI Scientific Director Jacob Corn presented this talk on Cas9 genome engineering, from mechanism to therapy during a session entitled “Emergent Technologies to Understand Disease” at the 2016 Institute for Systems Biology International Symposium: Emerging Technologies for Systems Biology.

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IGI Graduate Student Researcher Alan Wang has been awarded a 2016 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.  Alan received his BA in biology and anthropology from Amherst College in 2012, working with Professor Dominic Poccia to examine the role of diacylglycerol in shaping biological membranes. He was a research assistant at the NIH and UCSF before joining the IGI as a graduate student in May 2015, using Cas9 to study locus specific protein composition. 

Press Release

NSF awards 2016 Graduate Research Fellowships 
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program | March 29, 2016

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IGI Scientific Director Jacob Corn and IGI Research Associate Katelynn Kazane spoke with Seth Shostak and Molly Bentley about CRISPR technology in an interview for Big Picture Science at the SETI Institute.  

Gene-y in a Bottle
Big Picture Science | Seth Shostak and Molly Bentley | March 21, 2016

CRISPR technology enables researchers to change the genetic code by removing and changing the order of genetic information in a cell or organism.  It is now easily accessibly and it is taking the science of genetic modification to new levels of precision and speed.  Other guests on this program include Lee Goldman (Cardiologist, Dean of Columbia University Medical Center, and author of “Too Much of a Good Thing; How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us”) and Josiah Zayner (Biohacker and former NASA synthetic biologist).

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Welcome to four new lab members:  Katelynn Kazane, Hong Ma, Julia Chu and Nicki Naddaf.

Katelynn and Hong are research associates, working on CRISPRi screens in challenging biological contexts. Julia is our new lab manager, helping bring order to chaos, and Nicki is an undergrad volunteer working with Benjamin on using CRISPR in cells of the immune system.

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In his article today for The Washington Post, IGI Scientific Director Jacob Corn explains how CRISPR technology is “democratizing” gene editing research in its ability to dramatically accelerate biological discovery by giving researchers an unprecedented opportunity to delve deeply into a wide variety of biological systems that were previously impenetrable.  CRISPR’s biggest impact on most people’s lives won’t be in the curing of genetic diseases:  “It’s much larger: the widening of our horizon of discovery, which could lead to advances we can’t even imagine.”  

CRISPR will change lives, but not only through genetic engineering
The Washington Post | Jacob Corn | February 23, 2016

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IGI Scientific Director Jacob Corn presented “The end of genetic disease” during a live webcast of TEDxBerkeley on Saturday, February 6, 2016.  

This TEDxBerkeley event gathered world-leading thinkers, makers and doers at UC Berkeley to discuss “Finding x.” The audience was composed of over 2000 students, professors and thought leaders from Berkeley and beyond for a stimulating day of presentations, discussions, entertainment and art.  TEDx is a TED-created/guided program of local, independently organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. 

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IGI Scientific Director Jacob Corn will attend a CIRM standards working group meeting this Thursday, February 4, 2016, to discuss CIRM’s involvement in human genome editing.  In light of recent science-policy initiatives, this working group is specifically being asked to review CIRM policies associated with gene editing of human germ cells and embryos, and an objective of this review is to ensure CIRM research continues to be conducted under the highest medical and ethical standards.

CIRM Scientific and Medical Accountability Standards Working Group Workshop on Human Gene Editing
February 4, 2016
Los Angeles, CA

Related Articles

• International Summit on Human Gene Editing – Washington, DC | December 1-3, 2015
• A prudent path forward for genomic engineering and germline gene modification – Science | Doudna, et al | March 19, 2015
• IGI Bioethics Workshop addresses concerns about CRISPR research – Napa, CA | January 24, 2015

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The IGI will welcome students from The Athenian School in Danville for a lab tour on Monday, February 1st.  Molly Gowen’s junior/senior geology and chemistry students will meet with IGI Scientific Director, Jacob Corn, tour IGI laboratory facilities, and talk with IGI grad students and postdocs about CRISRP-Cas9 genetic editing technology, careers in science and working at UC Berkeley. 

Welcome!

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