GENOME EDITING

Engineering Life: Gene Editing from Research To The Clinic

The Gene Editing Stage examines challenges in achieving precise gene edits and advancing gene and cell therapies, with talks on mitigating off-target effects and overcoming safety concerns in clinical applications.

DAY 1


On Day 1, The Genome Editing Stage will focus on advances in genome editing technologies and translating genome editing into the clinic. 

[topic] ADVANCES IN GENOME EDITING TECHNOLOGIES
-
Reproducibility & Reporting Guidelines for Genome Editing in Animal & Human Models
  • How much do we know about the function of mammalian genes?
  • Looking to the future of genome editing for animal models
  • The LAGeR guidelines for Improving laboratory animal genetic reporting
  • How it benefits and translate to human research
Speaker
Head of Unit, Genetic Engineering & Model Validation Department
Institut Clinique de la Souris
-
Omega Bio-tek: Removing the Barriers of Automating Plasmid DNA Extraction
  • Introduction to Omega Bio-tek and Product Portfolio
  • Plasmid DNA and Applications
  • New Mag-Bind® Endo-free Plasmid Midi and Mini Kits
  • Automation Capabilities
Speaker
European Technical Support Associate
Omega Bio-tek

-
Design of CRISPR Experiments & Cell Line Engineering
  • Implementation of CRISPR techniques including creation of cell lines with CRISPR deletions
  • Considerations for CRISPR knock-in experiments
  • Guidelines to choosing the best CRISP delivery for cell engineering
Speaker
Experimental Officer (Genome Editing Unit)
University of Manchester
-
[break] Lunch
  • Exhibition Floor: Wander around the vibrant exhibition floor to see the latest technologies and services on offer
  • Food Options: Grab a sandwich at The Tree of Life Cafe or head on over to the Food Village for a range of hot food options, including Indian, Jamaican and Lebanese food
  • Live Lounge Over Lunch: 15-minute technology-focused presentations
  • Poster Zone: Browse the posters and reach out to potential new collaborators
  • Talkaoke: The Flying Saucer of Chat, a fun and interactive pop-up show that offers you the opportunity to sit down with others and discuss any topic you like
[topic] ADVANCES IN GENOME EDITING TECHNOLOGIES
-
Removal of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes from Bacterial Strains and Communities Using CRISPR-Cas9
  • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a major threat to human healthcare Often, AMR genes are carried on plasmids – bacterial mobile genetic elements.
  • We engineer a broad host-range plasmid to encode CRISPR-Cas9 (pKJK5::csg). pKJK5::csg can be used to protect bacteria from uptake of AMR genes, or to resensitise them to antibiotics by removal of AMR plasmids.
  • We further assess for which use-cases mobile CRISPR-Cas9 tools such as pKJK5::csg are most effective.
  • Mobile CRISPR-Cas9 tools are a novel tool in the arsenal to combat the mounting tide of AMR.
Speaker
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, van Houte lab
University of Exeter
-
Quantifying Non-Specific Off-Target Activity By Base Editors
  • Accurate editing quantification is essential for studying RNA editing, often limited by coverage and alignment problems.
  • We discuss several common pitfalls and several strategies appropriate for coding and non-coding regions
  • Methods developed and lessons learned from the endogenous editome may facilitate better site-directed editing design.
Speaker
Professor
Tel Aviv University
-
Transposable Element Expression in Gene Expression during Early Mammalian Development
  • How the genome controls transposable elements by epigenetic modifications in early development
  • Using CELLO-seq to study locus-specific transposable element expression in single cells using long-read sequencing
  • Functional tool such as CRISPRi to understand the role of locus-specific transposable element expression in development
Speaker
Group Leader, Transposon Group
University of Oxford
-
[break] Break
  • Speed Networking: Fun and useful sessions where you’ll rapidly meet other Festival attendees to immediately expand your network
  • Food Options: Grab a coffee and a cake at The Tree of Life Cafe or head on over to the Food Village for a range of hot food options including Indian, Jamaican and Lebanese food
  • Exhibition Floor: Wander around the vibrant exhibition floor to see the latest technologies and services on offer
  • Talkaoke: The Flying Saucer of Chat, a fun and interactive pop-up show that offers you the opportunity to sit down with others and discuss any topic you like
[topic] GENOME EDITING TRANSLATION INTO THE CLINIC
-
Gene Therapy & Editing for Neurological Diseases
  • Why we need gene therapy / gene editing for neurological diseases
  • Current approaches available
  • Innovative and novel genetic therapies for intractable neurological diseases using a variety of in vivo and ex vivo experimental techniques,
Speaker
Professor of Translational Neuroscience
UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
-
Mapping the Functional Impact of Non-Coding Regulatory Elements in Primary T Cells through Single-cell CRISPR Screens
  • “Primary T cell crisprQTL” is a scalable, single-cell functional genomics approach for mapping regulatory elements to genes in primary human T cells.
  • This framework can facilitate the interrogation of immune disease GWAS hits.
  • The combination of experimental and QTL-based techniques is likely to address the variant-to-function problem.
Speaker
Associate Director
GSK
-
Application & Clinical Translation of CRISPR/Cas9 Genetic Screens in Cancer Cells
  • Cancer dependency maps to support target identification and drug discovery
  • The discovery of Werner Syndrome helicase as a synthetic-lethal target in microsatellite unstable cancers 
Speaker
Group Leader
Wellcome Sanger Institute

DAY 2


Day 2 on The Genome Editing Stage will focus on Personalised Cell & Gene Therapy.

[topic] PERSONALISED CELL & GENE THERAPY
-
A New Age of Genomic Therapies for Hearing Loss?
  • Genetic diagnostics for hearing loss have become widely available in the UK, with better informed etiologies for hearing loss
  • Several companies are pursuing gene therapies for hearing loss, and have reported success around the world for OTOF mutations
  • There is likely to be a coming paradigm shift in how we manage genetic hearing losses in the near to medium term future 
Speaker
Professor
University of Cambridge
-
In Vivo Evaluation of Novel Synthetic Promoters for CNS Gene Therapy
  • AAV gene therapy: a clinical reality
  • Gene regulatory element engineering for targeted CNS delivery
  • Evaluation of a novel dopaminergic neuronal promoter candidate
Speaker
Senior Research Fellow in the Genetic Therapy Accelerator Centre
UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
-
Gene Therapy for Lung Diseases
  • Developing RNA-based therapeutics for airways disease
  • Inhaled mRNA delivery using non-viral vectors
  • Preclinical and clinical research related to advanced therapies for rare lung diseases, i.e., cystic fibrosis and anti-trypsin deficiency
Speaker
Senior Lecturer in Advanced Therapies
Imperial College London
-
[break] Lunch
  • Exhibition Floor: Wander around the vibrant exhibition floor to see the latest technologies and services on offer
  • Food Options: Grab a sandwich at The Tree of Life Cafe or head on over to the Food Village for a range of hot food options including Indian, Jamaican and Lebanese food
  • Biodata Showcase: 15-minute technology-focused presentations
  • Poster Zone: Browse the posters and reach out to potential new collaborators
  • Talkaoke: The Flying Saucer of Chat, a fun and interactive pop-up show that offers you the opportunity to sit down with others and discuss any topic you like
[topic] PERSONALISED CELL & GENE THERAPY
-
Crack in the Creation, Prenatal Therapy for Congenital Blood Disorders
  • Prenatal Therapy In utero Gene Therapy
  • In utero Gene Therapy
  • Prenatal Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease
Speaker
Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Maternal and Fetal Medicine
King's College London
-
Personalised Engineered Cell Therapies for Cystic Fibrosis
  • Gene editing therapies for cystic fibrosis using gene editing, gene delivery, stem cell biology and cystic fibrosis epithelial biology
  • Optimal methods for delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 formulations
  • Air-liquid interface models of the CF epithelium for identifying biological readouts and testing therapies 
Speaker
Professor in Molecular Genetics
University College London
-
Cell Therapies for Cartlige Repair
  • Cell-based therapies for the repair of cartilage defects ‘Omic (transcriptomic, quantitative proteomics and metabolomics) and bioinformatics approaches to identify better performing cells and for patient stratification
  • Novel allogeneic therapies for the treatment of cartilage defects
  • Cell-based therapies for the repair of cartilage defects 
Speaker
Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine
Keele University
-
[break] Break
  • Speed Networking: Fun and useful sessions where you’ll rapidly meet other Festival attendees to immediately expand your network
  • Food Options: Grab a sandwich at The Tree of Life Cafe or head on over to the Food Village for a range of hot food options, including Indian, Jamaican and Lebanese food
  • Exhibition Floor: Wander around the vibrant exhibition floor to see the latest technologies and services on offer
  • Talkaoke: The Flying Saucer of Chat, a fun and interactive pop-up show that offers you the opportunity to sit down with others and discuss any topic you like
-
Stage Closed