Advancing Genome Engineering

Program Leadership

Unlocking the full potential of CRISPR genome editing requires continuous innovation.

The IGI is committed to optimizing current genome editing tools and developing new ones. Many antibiotics, enzymes, drugs, and research tools like CRISPR-Cas9 are the repurposed natural products of microbes. To discover novel molecules, IGI researchers gather genetic information from thousands of previously unknown bacteria and archaea. To reach the potential of genome editing in both health and agriculture, the world needs more options for safely and reliably delivering editing tools to the cells and tissues that are harmed by mutations. The IGI is developing cross-cutting new approaches for the delivery of genome editing tools. We are building upon foundational CRISPR-Cas technologies to create more precise and powerful tools for manipulating the genome.

Key Goals

Delivery: Develop new ways to deliver CRISPR to specific cells and tissues

Discovery: Find and develop new genomic technologies from the microbial world

Development: Create new CRISPR technologies & enhance existing genome editing methods

Flagship Projects

IGI Delivery Collective

The delivery challenge for genome editing therapies is the single greatest impediment to widespread use of CRISPR-based therapies for genetic diseases and beyond.

Spearheaded by the Wilson, Doudna, Marson, and Murthy labs, the IGI Delivery Collective is a collaborative effort working to develop new technology that enables or improves access to therapeutic genome editing

IGI Delivery Collective →

CRISPR for the Microbiome

We are expanding the frontiers of what CRISPR can do.

Microbial communities, or microbiomes, are critical for human and environmental health. Our researchers are creating the first ever technology to edit the genomes of microbes living within their natural communities, with the goal of ultimately editing microbes for human health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, and more.

CRISPRing the Microbiome is Just Around the Corner →