From April 7-11, Frida and Kornel from our group had the opportunity to attend the CRISPRMED 2025 conference in Copenhagen. It was a four-day meeting dedicated entirely to the development of CRISPR-based therapeutics. The conference brought together scientists, clinicians, and industry experts who are driving the field forward, with discussions spanning from early-stage discovery to clinical translation and regulatory perspectives. It was inspiring to witness how far the CRISPR field has come in just over a decade, and how much momentum there is toward making gene-editing therapies accessible and safe for patients.
One of the most powerful moments was hearing from Jimi Olaghere, a patient advocate living with sickle cell disease, whose personal story was a deeply moving reminder of the transformative potential these therapies hold for individuals affected by devastating diseases. The program also featured thought-provoking talks from some of the pioneers in the gene editing space, reflecting on lessons learned and the road ahead.
(Video credit: CRISPR Medicine News, via YouTube, published 24 May 2024.)
Particularly exciting were the sessions on recent advances in gene-edited cell therapies and in vivo approaches for treating rare diseases. Julian Grünewald presented advancements in editing of human heart cells and tissue using iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to develop therapeutic strategies for heart disease. Raffaella Di Micco presented exciting work on how 3D culture scaffolds can preserve cellular function in hematopoietic stem cell editing and improve outcomes.
Frida and Kornel also had the chance to present their posters, titled “CRISPR/Cas9-based pipeline to introduce custom edits in autologous T cells” and “CHOPOFF: symbolic alignments enable sensitive and fast CRISPR off-target detection”, which offered a great opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss our approach with peers and professionals from both academia and industry.
The conference wrapped up with a social Copenhagen Canal Trip—a relaxed and enjoyable way to connect with peers and conclude this exciting and inspiring week.
