Description:

The Center for Genetic Medicine of Northwestern University welcomes you to attend the Mouse Genetics Group 2015 Annual Lecture & Poster Session on May 20, featuring a keynote lecture by Feng Zhang, PhD, W. M. Keck Career Development Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Assistant Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Investigator, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT; Core Member, Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Genome Editing Using CRISPR-Cas9

Functional elucidation of causal genetic variations and genetic elements requires precise genome manipulation technologies. We have recently developed a new class of eukaryotic genome engineering technology based on the bacterial CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) adaptive immune system. We reconstituted the CRISPR crRNA processing and interference system in mammalian cells and demonstrate that the Cas9 nuclease can be targeted to specific genomic loci by short crRNA guides to induce DNA double strand breaks. In a variety of cell types and species, Cas9 mediates editing of endogenous chromatin. Here we describe most recent advances for the Cas9 technology through interrogation and enhancement of targeting specificity, conversation of Cas9 into a modular DNA targeting domain, as well as application of the Cas9 system to probe gene function and genetic variations. Our results demonstrate the versatility of the RNA-guided CRISPR Cas9 nuclease system and open the possibility for efficient and multiplexed eukaryotic genome engineering for a variety of biomedical research and biotechnological applications.

Feng Zhang, PhD is the Keck Career Development Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering at MIT, a New York Stem Cell Foundation-Robertson Investigator and a Core Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. As a graduate student at Stanford University, Zhang worked with advisor Karl Deisseroth to invent a set of technologies for dissecting the functional organization of brain circuits. His lab works on developing and applying disruptive technologies including optogenetics and genome engineering (TALENs and CRISPR) to understand nervous system function and disease. Zhang’s long-term goal is to develop novel therapeutic strategies for disease treatment. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a PhD in chemistry and bioengineering from Stanford University. Before joining the MIT faculty he was a junior fellow of the Harvard University Society of Fellows. He is a recipient of the Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, the Perl/UNC Prize in Neuroscience, the NIH Director’s Pioneer award, and awards from the Searle Scholars Program, McKnight, Keck, Vallee, and Damon Runyon foundations.

The Mouse Genetics Group Annual Lecture & Poster Competition is co-sponsored by Northwestern University's Driskill Graduate Program (DGP) in Life Sciences.