CRISPR Cuts

Imran House, Ph.D. and Junyun Lai Ph.D. are Senior Scientists at the biotech start-up, oNKo-Innate [https://www.onko-innate.com/] in Melbourne, Australia that focuses on developing immuno-oncology therapies. In this episode, they discussed what they do at oNKo-innate, their career transitions from leaving academics to entering the biotech industry, and how CRISPR is impacting cancer-immunotherapy development. They also discussed overcoming common obstacles faced when developing cytokine therapies and future outlooks on clinical trials using these kinds of therapies.   Reach out and connect with both Imran and Junyun on social media platforms: Imran House, Ph.D. LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/imran-house-19034ba0/] X: @ImranHouse [https://twitter.com/ImranHouse]   Junyun Lai, Ph.D. LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/junyun-lai-35496b40/?originalSubdomain=au] X: @JunyunLai [https://twitter.com/JunyunLai]

Dr. Mark DeWitt Ph.D., Associate Director at Mammoth Biosciences, and Dr. Don Kohn M.D., distinguished professor and Director of the UCLA Human Gene and Cell Therapy Program and CIRM grantee sat down with us to discuss their latest clinical trials to cure sickle cell anemia, how synthetic guides accelerated their journey from the bench to the clinic, and their experience in the cell and gene therapy space.

Dina Simkin, Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University, joins us in this episode of CRISPR Cuts. Dr. Simkin talks about her path to becoming a researcher, art, and the importance of patient and isogenic iPSC models to study genetically linked forms of epilepsies.

Dr. Sunil Sharma and Dr. Raffaella Soldi of the Translational Genomics Research Institute chat about using CRISPR arrayed screens to identify novel drug targets for Ewing's Sarcoma, outlooks for the future of cancer therapies, and the Arizona heat.

Professor Stephanie Cherqui, [https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/pediatrics/research/labs/cherqui/Pages/default.aspx] UCSD, has worked on the development of cell therapies for two rare genetic diseases, cystinosis and Friedreich’s ataxia. In this interview, Dr. Cherqui chats about her experience working on rare diseases, developing a CRISPR-edited therapy for Friedreich's ataxia, navigating regulatory challenges in cell and gene therapies, and more.