Our group member Pavel participated in the ninth Genome Engineering: CRISPR Frontiers meeting, organised by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on 16-20th August, 2023.
He got to present our work in the poster session – Enhancing CRISPR gene correction in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells – and do some valuable networking with others in the industry, including Nobel prize winner Jennifer Dounda, who discovered one of the sharpest gene technology tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. 😊
The goal of the meeting was to “foster fruitful and creative interactions between researchers interested in applying these systems to genome engineering and related advances in a wide variety of organisms, together with scientists studying the basic biology of CRISPR-Cas and related bacterial defense systems.”
Pavel's account of the event
Genome Engineering: CRISPR Frontiers 2023 took place in the secluded and lovely campus at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, approximately 1-hour drive from New York City, USA.
The conference theme revolved around CRISPR technology in various fields, stretching from understanding and discovering new CRISPR effector proteins and its role in immune surveillance in bacterial communities to biotechnological and clinical application of various CRISPR tools.
I presented the joint work we did together with Carolina and received valuable feedback from the participants. During the networking sessions I talked with representatives from various companies (e.g. Novartis, Vertex, Stellate, Touchlight) and with group leaders/postdocs/graduate students (e.g. David R. Liu, Jennifer Doudna, John Doench, Neville Sanjana and Fyodor Urnov).
One pinnacle of the conference was the opportunity to meet Jennifer Doudna and take a photo with her, since she’s one of my hero scientists. We organized a reunion with Ganna Reint, the first graduate student from Emma’s lab, since she also attended the conference.
We caught up with ongoing research and with our private lives as well. I really enjoyed the surroundings and the high level of scientific disseminations together with a relaxed atmosphere and a very homey feeling. It always feels like being a part of a big, yet small, CRISPR family.
