The advent of the CRISPR-CAS9 technique gives researchers the ability to make precise changes to the DNA of, theoretically, any living organism that has DNA. That precision is particularly meaningful for treatment of diseases caused by well-known faults in genes — otherwise incurable diseases such as sickle cell anemia, the fatal lung disorder cystic fibrosis, and the blindness-causing Leber congenital amaurosis. CRISPR-Cas9 could be a way to prevent or reverse those disorders.
Cells treated with “metabolic priming” retained their stem cell-like qualities, thus enhancing their ability to kill cancer cells, transform into durable memory cells, and survive longer in the body.
A new study from the Krishanu Saha lab suggests using CRISPR technology to optimize natural immune responses by bioengineering and remodeling T cells. Using a multiplexing technique, the team addresses key challenges in current cancer therapies that could significantly improve treatment outcomes. “We have developed a new way to engineer immune cells to fight cancer more safely and effectively. Think of it as reprogramming the body’s own soldiers (T cells) to recognize and attack cancer cells,” says Cappabianca.
Katherine P. Meuller, PhD and Nicole J. Piscopo win with “Production and characterization of virus-free, CRISPR-CAR T cells capable of inducing solid tumor regression”
WID and Saha Lab alumnus, and current postdoc at the Morgridge Institute for Research, Amritava Das anticipates that he will put his engineering and bioscience training to use exploring the sometimes knotty connections between science, national security, and finance.
Shaoqin “Sarah” Gong collaborates on a new approach to target genetic mutations and develop a new therapy for restoring vision in children and adults.
A promising platform developed by the Saha Lab at WID advances the CRISPR genome editing field and could lead to effective treatments for many diseases.
WID’s Kris Saha was among UW–Madison researchers who have published a proof-of-concept method to correct an inherited form of macular degeneration that causes blindness, and that is currently untreatable.
WID’s Kris Saha spoke to Wisconsin Public Radio to answer questions about gene editing technology CRISPR in response to a question received by WHYsconsin.
WID’s Krishanu Saha and colleagues J. Benjamin Hurlbut and Sheila Jasanoff write in Scientific American about germ line editing and the need for more scientific and moral clarity.
An interdisciplinary pair of WID researchers has developed a new nanocapsule delivery method for delivering the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool. The new system could be used for many types of gene therapies.
WID’s Randolph Ashton, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is the new associate director for UW–Madison’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.
A second WID-led team joins NIH’s Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium with a grant to study new methods of delivering the CRISPR/Cas9 system to the brain.
UW researchers led by WID’s Kris Saha join the National Institutes of Health’s Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium with a major collaborative award.
Investigators from WID are among the recipients of the latest round of UW2020 awards.
Error rates as high as 50 percent are a problem when the goal is to correct typos in the DNA that cause genetic disease. Now, a team of researchers led by WID’s Kris Saha has made the fix less mistake-prone.
Kris Saha illuminates the inner workings of gene editing.
Kris Saha with colleagues David Beebe and Christian Capitini aim to develop improved methods for making CAR T-Cells with a two-year grant from the NSF.
Kris Saha and colleagues from the BIONATES Theme detail a new approach that can refine gene editing in this month’s issue of Stem Cell Reports.
