CRISPR Cuts

Imran House, Ph.D. and Junyun Lai Ph.D. are Senior Scientists at the biotech start-up, oNKo-Innate in Melbourne, Australia that focuses on developing immuno-oncology therapies. In this episode, they discussed what they do at oNKo-innate, their career transitions from leaving academics to entering the biotech industry, and how CRISPR is impacting cancer-immunotherapy development. They also discussed overcoming common obstacles faced when developing cytokine therapies and future outlooks on clinical trials using these kinds of therapies.   Reach out and connect with both Imran and Junyun on social media platforms: Imran House, Ph.D. LinkedIn X: @ImranHouse   Junyun Lai, Ph.D. LinkedIn X: @JunyunLai

Dr. Mark DeWitt Ph.D., Associate Director at Mammoth Biosciences, and Dr. Don Kohn M.D., distinguished professor and Director of the UCLA Human Gene and Cell Therapy Program and CIRM grantee sat down with us to discuss their latest clinical trials to cure sickle cell anemia, how synthetic guides accelerated their journey from the bench to the clinic, and their experience in the cell and gene therapy space.

Dina Simkin, Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University, joins us in this episode of CRISPR Cuts. Dr. Simkin talks about her path to becoming a researcher, art, and the importance of patient and isogenic iPSC models to study genetically linked forms of epilepsies.

Dr. Sunil Sharma and Dr. Raffaella Soldi of the Translational Genomics Research Institute chat about using CRISPR arrayed screens to identify novel drug targets for Ewing's Sarcoma, outlooks for the future of cancer therapies, and the Arizona heat.

Professor Stephanie Cherqui, UCSD, has worked on the development of cell therapies for two rare genetic diseases, cystinosis and Friedreich's ataxia. In this interview, Dr. Cherqui chats about her experience working on rare diseases, developing a CRISPR-edited therapy for Friedreich's ataxia, navigating regulatory challenges in cell and gene therapies, and more.

Tune in to hear Christian Groendahl, CEO of SNIPR Biome, talk about CRISPR editing in prokaryotes, their novel E. coli-targeting CRISPR therapy trials, and his experiences and vision leading a start up.

In this episode, Bryan Dechairo, CEO of Sherlock Biosciences, talks about the impact of technology advances in the field of CRISPR diagnostics, his experiences leading Sherlock Biosciences, and his team's mission of accessibility. 

Dr. Ayal Hendel, a genome-editing pioneer and group leader at Bar Ilan University in Israel, was one of the first researchers to use modified synthetic sgRNA to edit primary cells with CRISPR. In this episode, Dr. Hendel shares his perspectives on the recent CRISPR advancements and his work on the bubble boy disease.

Jimi has dealt with sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder with serious implications, his entire life. Undergoing a CRISPR gene editing trial turned his hope for a cure into reality with promising results from the early phases. Tune in to learn about Jimi's journey in this episode. 

TJ Cradick, Chief Scientific Officer at Excision Bio, discusses their CRISPR HIV therapy that recently proceeded into clinical trials in this episode and their ongoing work on other viral diseases. 

After being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, Bryce Olson quickly learned the science behind it and has leveraged NGS to understand his tumor genomics and find opportunities in personalized therapies. Hear the patient perspective for the first time on our podcast through Bryce's narration of his experience and pursuit of next generation cell and gene therapies. 

In this collaboration episode with NEB, we interview Dr. Neville Sanjana, a core faculty member at the New York Genome Center, about his recent publication in which chemically modified guide RNAs were used to enhance CRISPR-Cas13 knockdown in human cells.

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Kiana Aran, the CSO of Cardea Bio and associate professor at Keck Graduate Institute, who recently won the Nature Research Award for Inspiring Women in Science. Dr. Aran talks about her experience being a nominee and award winner, her early days and scientific journey, and the launch of her new non-profit, Aran Nebula.

We chatted with six female leaders in the CRISPR—Alison van Eenennaam, Ph.D., Kiana Aran, Christina Trojel-Hansen, Ph.D., Laura Lambert, Ph.D., Elena Miñones Moyano, Ph.D., and Samantha Maragh, Ph.D.— about their professional journeys.  Tune in to this episode for a candid and honest discussion on a broad range of topics, including their experiences as women of color, life as working moms, adjusting in male-dominated fields, experiences being part of the LGBTQIA community, and the role of mentors in professional development.

In this CRISPR Cuts episode, Dr. Jesse Boehm, the Chief Scientific Officer of the Break Through Cancer Foundation and principal investigator at the Broad Institute, talks about his work on rare cancers. He also covers how CRISPR technology is transforming cancer research.

The Inducible Pluripotent Stem Cell Neurodegeneration Initiative (iNDI), an NIH effort, aims to standardize disease models for Alzheimer's and related dementias. Hear the principal contributors, Dr. Michael E. Ward and Dr. Mark R. Cookson, scientists at the NIH, talk about the inception of the iNDI project, the challenges and opportunities, and the future of neurodegenerative research.   

Prime editing is a new genome engineering tool that emerged just a couple of years back. Right from the get-go, this technology made waves as a potential alternative to CRISPR. Now, the first comparative study in mice is out. Dr. Joe Miano, Professor at the Augusta University in Georgia, talks about their collaborative work comparing traditional CRISPR-mediated homology-directed repair with prime editing in mice.   

Did you know cassava can cause cyanide poisoning if it is not processed correctly and consumed with a protein-poor diet? In this episode, we chat with IGI researchers, Jess Lyons and Michael Gomez about their work on using CRISPR to reduce cyanide in cassava and improve its food safety.

Kevin Davies, the executive editor of The CRISPR Journal, has closely watched the genetics space evolve over the last decades. His expertise and experience were the perfect foundation for his latest book "Editing Humanity: The CRISPR Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing." In this episode, Kevin discusses his motivation for the book, along with some behind-the-scenes stories when writing this timely literature piece.

In this episode, Michael Friend, CEO of Minority Coalition for Precision Medicine, discusses the lack of diversity in genome editing field and covers potential solutions for ensuring an inclusive future, particularly for black scientists.

In this episode, Paul Dabrowski, CEO of Synthego, and Robert Deans, CSO of Synthego discuss the CRISPR silver linings of 2020 and predict a strong upcoming year for gene editing in 2021. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique situation for lab scientists, many of whose work has come to a standstill. Hamid Ghanadaan, CEO of Linus, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on science and the next steps for scientists, based on their survey of >1000 scientists.

The mission of Indee Labs, a Berkeley biotech, is to deliver CRISPR reagents into cells using microfluidics for developing affordable cell and gene therapies in the future. We interviewed Ryan Pawell, Founder and CEO of Indee Labs, about the concept of using microfluidics for CRISPR delivery, their mission and ongoing projects, and the convergence of engineering and biology for building scalable platforms.

What is the process to make a science film? In this episode, Sarah Goodwin and Elliot Kirschner, producers of Human Nature, a documentary on CRISPR, offer glimpses into making of the film.

Shondra Miller shares her experience of starting a shared genome engineering resource at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Learn more about her research projects and her views on the past, present, and future of the genome editing field in this podcast episode.

Dr. Bill Skarnes, Professor at The Jackson Laboratory, chats about how CRISPR edited stem cells are becoming a gold standard to study gene function and disease modeling. 

Rebecca Shapiro, Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph, talks about CRISPR genome editing in fungal pathogens to understand their disease-causing mechanism. Her lab also works on gene drives in fungi for studying large scale genetic interactions and developing ways for treating fungal biofilms.

In this interview, Paul Dabrowski, CEO of Synthego, talks about how Synthego got started, his mantra behind leading the company, and future directions. He also offers insights into Synthego’s unique capabilities⁠—the powerful combination of engineering and biology that enable scaling.

CRISPR has great potential in therapeutics, but CRISPR delivery in vivo remains a challenge. Researcher Dana Foss discusses her lab’s novel approach for specific delivery of CRISPR components in cells and tissues.

CRISPR is going beyond gene editing into a new area: diagnostics. Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg, co-founders of SHERLOCK Biosciences, talk about the present advances and future of CRISPR diagnostics. 

Kiana Aran, a biomedical engineering expert, talks about her research on CRISPR-Chip, a new biosensor that combines CRISPR & electronics to detect specific genes in genomic DNA.

Megan Hochstrasser, Science Communications Manager at the Innovative Genomics Institute, talks about the importance of CRISPR science communication and the ongoing efforts at IGI to help people understand this genome engineering tool.

Andre Watson, CEO of Ligandal, talks about how his company is improving the payload delivery of gene therapy, making it more accurate and efficient, to make new gene therapy a reality for the public.

Biotech and biopharma companies are in a phase of accelerated growth. Alex Philippidis, a science journalist at Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News discusses the changing face of big pharma, biotech, and CRISPR gene editing industries, as they raise more money and the world changes around them.

Dr. Avery Posey is leading the charge on CAR T cell therapy research to bring this technology to cancer patients as soon as possible. Learn how CAR T works, what stage it’s in now, and how it will help revolutionize the treatment of cancer.  

Trevor Martin, CEO of Mammoth Biosciences, talks about the science behind CRISPR diagnostics, and what Mammoth is doing to bring it to consumers in the next decade.

In this Holiday-special mash-up episode, CRISPR Cuts teams up with Curiosity podcast to discuss the ins and outs of CRISPR. Gear up, it's going to be a fun ride!

Andrew Porterfield is a scientific marketing consultant, science journalist, and all around science communicator. We caught up with Andrew to discuss the latest news about how CRISPR is impacting the agriculture industry and how the various regulatory decisions related to this technology may shape its use and adoption in different parts of the world.

Alison Van Eenennaam is a geneticist at UC Davis, primarily interested in using CRISPR and other DNA-based biotechnologies in cattle production and agricultural systems. Learn about her exciting projects, ranging from "All Boys" cattle to hornless dairy cows, and the technical difficulties of working with large mammals in this episode.

Gene drives have frequently been in the news in the past few years. In this episode, we discuss what exactly gene drives are, their applications, and how scientists are ensuring that they are used responsibly. Tune in to hear what researchers Anna Buchman from UCSD and Kevin Esvelt from MIT had to say.

Dr. Ania Wronski, Product Manager for the Engineered Cells portfolio at Synthego, discusses how their new engineered cells products are enabling CRISPR access to researchers worldwide. Learn about the different ways in which researchers use knockout cell pools & their advantages over RNAi.

What do you think of when you hear the term "transgenic animal"? The hippogriff from Harry Potter? A mouse model to study diabetes? Kevin and Minu discuss what transgenic animals are, how they are used in research, and how CRISPR has changed the transgenic game. After listening, head over to The Bench blog to read more about CRISPR and transgenic animals.

It's not every day you get to meet one of your idols! Minu and Kevin caught up with Carl Zimmer, an award-winning New York Times columnist and science journalist. Minu chatted with Zimmer and got a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into his latest book "She Has Her Mother's Laugh" and discussed his views on CRISPR and genomics. 

Reed Kelso, Head of Cell Engineering Research and Applications at Synthego, is a bio-wizard. In this episode, Kevin & Minu catch up with Reed about his role at Synthego and the day-to-day operations at the fast paced start-up. Reed talks about the revolutionary engineered cells products that he and his team recently launched & the hard work behind this amazing achievement. He also speculates about the future applications of CRISPR; his bets are on CRISPR making a massive splash in agriculture!