A look back over an exciting year for CRISPR and the IGI
The world of genome editing is moving at a fast pace, and the IGI is right in the middle of the action. Here’s a look back at some of our most exciting news stories and new resources you don’t want to miss!
AI meets CRISPR
AI was the technology story of 2024 and its impact on science has been undeniable. The IGI is at the forefront of combining Nobel Prize-winning technologies — CRISPR and AI — and applying them to challenges in medicine, agriculture, and climate change. One application: using machine learning to hack the ribosome. Read more >
The IGI tackles the cost of genomic medicines
IGI’s Public Impact Director Melinda Kliegman and her team brought together experts in academia, healthcare, biotech, government, and intellectual property to form an Affordability Task Force with a two-fold aim: 1) to create a plan to deliver IGI-developed CRISPR therapies in an affordable way, and 2) to publish and share a roadmap that details bottlenecks and possible solutions for others who are working to develop affordable genomic medicines. See the recommendations here >
Big award for small seeds
Considered by many the Nobel Prize for agriculture, the Wolf Foundation selected IGI Investigator Venkatesan Sundaresan for his groundbreaking molecular research on plant reproduction, which led to a method for producing clonal seeds from hybrid plants such as rice. This could lower the cost of hybrid seeds, making high-yielding, disease-resistant cereal crop strains available to low-income farmers worldwide. Read more >
Collaborating to create CRISPR cures for rare disease patients
The Beacon for CRISPR Cures, a collaboration between the IGI and Danaher Corporation, aims to create a roadmap for rapidly developing genome-editing therapies for hundreds of rare genetic diseases with a unified research, development, and regulatory framework. Read more >
Training regulators across the globe
IGI’s Public Impact team held a one-of-a-kind workshop on building regulatory capacity for genome-editing in agriculture, with classroom and lab sessions for regulators from 18 countries from across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Read more >
Delivering CRISPR to the brain
Delivery — both targeting the right cells and tissues in the body, and transporting CRISPR editors inside the cells — is one of the biggest challenges for CRISPR therapeutics. IGI researchers in the Doudna lab are developing self-delivering CRISPR molecules small enough to be used to target tissues in the brain for treating neurological diseases. Read more >
Seed funding for women founders
Two of our 2023-2024 Women in Enterprising Fellows, Derfogail Delcassian and Yue Clare Lou, were selected to receive $1 million in non-dilutive funding to support their entrepreneurial pursuits. Delcassian is working on vaccine-based approaches for hard-totreat cancers like melanoma and pancreatic cancer. Lou is using AI to mine the microbiome for immune-modulating molecules to treat conditions ranging from autoimmunity to cancer. Read more >
The cow burp problem
Nearly 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide come from livestock production. But the methane produced by livestock doesn’t come directly from the animal — it comes from its gut microbiome. Supported by the TED Audacious Project gift, IGI investigators at UC Davis and UC Berkeley are developing a onetime treatment that targets microbial genes to reduce the methane emissions from livestock for a lifetime.
A new resource on CRISPR & ethics
CRISPRpedia is our textbook-style resource on CRISPR technology and applications — now with a new chapter exploring the many ethical questions raised by this powerful technology! CRISPRpedia is fully online and free, in English and high-quality Spanish translation. Explore here >
Connecting with diverse students
For the past two summers, the IGI has hosted undergraduate researchers from Hampton University, a historically Black university in Virginia. We are exploring ways expand our partnership with Hampton and other HBCUs. And this year, for the first time, IGI had booths at two of the largest STEM diversity conferences, giving us the opportunity to connect with hundreds of students and early-career researchers. Read more about the IGI-Hampton Summer Research Program >
Thanks for supporting us through another fantastic year!
See more about our work over the past year in the IGI 2024 Impact Report
