THE EVENT

We are a group of Ph.D. students from the University of Pisa, and this year we have the pleasure to organize a virtual event to explore in deep the hot topic of CRISPR/Cas technology, inviting internationally renowned experts in the field of genome editing. Through this international and scientifically innovative context, we would like to encourage the approach to new CRISPR technologies, to foster learning, inspiration and provoke conversations that matter.

Are you interested in

• how CRISPR/Cas leads the way to cure genetic diseases and real-life health problems?
• how Nanomedicine helps to solve the main challenges of CRISPR?
• how phages have evolved to overcome the CRISPR system of bacteria and successfully infect them using anti-CRISPR enzymes?

and most importantly,

• a critical debate about possible applications of genome editing in research, but especially for disease treatment in humans and in human embryos?

If yes, then join us on the journey of
“Talking about CRISPR: the future of genome editing”.

Please, remember to register to receive the link to the virtual event.
If you want to know more check the agenda or keep scrolling this page.

REGISTRATION

AGENDA

Speakers

Joseph Bondy-Denomy

University of California,
San Francisco
Laboratory of Bacterial Immunology

Valentina Calderai

University of Pisa
Department of Law

Anna Cereseto

University of Trento
CIBIO - Centro per la Biologia Integrata

Andy Greenfield

MRC Harwell, UK

Vittoria Raffa

University of Pisa
Laboratory of Nanomedicine
and Molecular Biology

Organizers

C. Dell'Amico

PhD Student, University of Pisa

S. Konstantinidou

PhD Student, University of Pisa

F. Merighi

PhD Student, University of Pisa

A. Minetti

PhD Student, University of Pisa

M. M. A. Salavarria

PhD Student, University of Pisa

T. J. N. Schmidt

PhD Student, University of Pisa

WHAT IS CRISPR?

Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats, or CRISPR, correspond to highly conserved nucleotide repeat regions separated by multiple unique spacers and that are widely found in the genomes of bacteria and archaea.

Despite the discovery of the CRISPR cluster by the end of 1980, only after nearly two decades of research, scientists were finally able to uncover its function: By acting as a prokaryotic adaptive immune response system, it protects bacteria against viral infections - in a similar way as our human immune system does.

When a bacteriophage infects a prokaryotic cell, due to the presence of the CRISPR system, a short sequence of the foreign genetic material is integrated into the genome of the bacteria itself. If the same bacteria will be now infected a second time by the bacteriophage, the cell can identify it and target it easily. Responsible for the destruction of the genetic material of the invading phage, is a set of homologous genes present in the cluster, called the CRISPR-associated system (Cas). Due to the structure and function of the encoded Cas protein, but also the bacterial strain, the CRISPR system can be categorized into different classes. Among these, probably the most prominent one relies on the Cas9 enzyme, but also other Cas nucleases are implemented by the system.

Viruses invade bacteria, but bacteria have developed ways to fight against them through the CRISPR system. Credit to https://www.hhmi.org/news/crispr-enzyme-protects-bacteria-turning-infected-cells-themselves

How does CRISPR work as a gene editing tool?

While the CRISPR/Cas system is an invention of nature, using this tool now for precise gene editing application is a human one. Here, the idea is quite straightforward: A genetically engineered CRISPR/Cas complex allows targeting easily any gene of interest in basically all organisms - meaning microorganisms, plants, animals, or humans. The ability of the CRISPR/Cas9 of being harnessed as a programmable nuclease, explains how this technique has emerged so rapidly as one of the most important tools for targeted genome editing nowadays.
The CRISPR/Cas system allows precise genome editing applications by following generally three main steps:

Identification of the target
Due to the integration of a guide RNA (gRNA) in the system, a specific target sequence is recognized while the complex scans the whole DNA molecule.

Precision cutting
The coupled Cas9 protein acts as a “molecular scissor”, inducing a double-strand break (DSB) at a precise position in the double DNA strand.

Induction of repair mechanisms
As a consequence of the DSB, repair mechanisms are initiated inside the cell. In eucaryotic cells, the two major pathways responsible for restoring the DNA double-strand are non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homology directed repair (HDR). The error-prone NHEJ usually generates random indels or deletions at the target site, while the HR is the more accurate mechanism for DSB repair. It allows rebuilding the original strand but also introduces specific mutations into the damaged DNA sequence depending on the chosen repair template.

According to the applied mechanism, DNA bases can be either substituted, added, or deleted, leading either to mutations, knock-in, or knockouts, as well as gene inactivation i.e., by frameshift or key-element disruption.

Cas9 (endonuclease) in complex with gRNA (green) successfully binds onto the DNA target sequence and is ready to cut both DNA strands (blue/purple). Credit to CRISPR Cas9 Gene Editing: Scientific Illustration - Medical & Scientific Video Animation & Illustration by John Liebler (artofthecell.com)

WOMEN IN SCIENCE

A video interview with Prof. Arianna Tavanti, PhD Elisabetta Ferraro, Prof. Vittoria Raffa, Prof. Michela Ori and Phd. Maria Teresa Dell’Anno about what means to be a woman scientist.

Chiara Gabellini
Professor Assistant

What does it mean for you to be a scientist?
Since I was a child, I knew that I wanted to be a scientist. At that time, I had lost my grandfather due to lung cancer and I had wished I could become a researcher to give my contribution to cancer research. Of course, those were thoughts of a little girl but something is still there, guiding my daily research activity in the lab.

Have you encountered any difficulties in your career just for being a woman?
I feel lucky since I can not actually say I have experienced any annoying situations being a female researcher. Besides, on some occasions, I witnessed unfair practices involving some close female colleagues. In most cases, it was related to maternity leave or to their need to keep a proper work-family balance.

What would be your message/advice to a young woman scientist?
Don't be afraid to get on this "roller coaster"...you have to face many difficulties and downs but the view from the top is amazing!

Elena Landi
PhD, Technical Assistant

What does it mean for you to be a scientist?
For me being a scientist means being curious, creative, tenacious, passionate and humble.Curiosity is the drive to know, to understand the world and not to stop at appearances.Creativity is a quality that helps to look always for new ways to solve problems, looking at them from different points of view and finding innovative solutions.Tenacity is essential, because inevitably the work of a scientist is a steeplechase, and one must know how to live with failures without losing heart.Passion for one's own research is what makes work enjoyable and never heavy, even when the hours spent at the bench are long.Facing others with a humble attitude (which does not mean submissive) means being open to listening and evaluating reality objectively and critically, without presumption. A conceited scientist is more likely to make a mistake and misses out on all the benefits of collaborating in a team.

Have you encountered any difficulties in your career just for being a woman?
In the past I have encountered difficulties, not so much because I am a woman but because I am a mother. The bitterness was aggravated by the fact that among those who told me that I could not do science because I had "a too heavy family" there were also women. I cried, I got angry, then I wrote a text with which I took part in a literary competition organized by the "Casa della Donna in Pisa". I won and my text was published in a book. Then I did my best, I used my brain and heart, I grew up and found a way to fulfil myself by working with people of a completely different human and professional caliber.

What would be your message/advice to a young woman scientist?
I advise young women scientists to look inside themselves, get to know themselves and focus on their human and professional goals. When these are clear, it is much easier to deal with the ups and downs of research, intertwined with the ups and downs of life. I would also add a pinch of irony, which never hurts...

Guglielma De Matienzo
Technical Assistant

What does it mean for you to be a scientist?
In my opinion, a scientist is an expert scholar in a field of science, a person who seeks answers, tests hypotheses by doing experiments, collects and shares knowledge.

Have you encountered any difficulties in your career just for being a woman?
Personally, I have not encountered great obstacles, but I recognize that it is difficult for a woman to reconcile study, work, family, and children.

What would be your message/advice to a young woman scientist?
Endure, persevere, believe in yourself, in your potential, and in the activities that you are pursuing.

LEARN MORE

What is CRISPR?

What you need to know about CRISPR

Ellen Jorgensen

How CRISPR lets us edit our DNA

Jennifer Doudna

How CRISPR lets you edit DNA

Andrea M. Henle

Gene editing can now change an entire species... forever

Jennifer Kahn

CRISPR and ethics

The ethical dilemma of designer babies

Paul Knoepfler

CRISPR: The future or undoing of humanity

Walter Isaacson

CRISPR: Can we control it?

Jennifer Doudna, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, & more