The Future of CRISPR

LIVE Symposium

Wednesday, June 11, 2025
1:00 - 4:00 PM ET (10:00 AM-1:00 PM PT)

CRISPR-based technologies have taken the world by storm thanks to the technique’s ability to edit nucleic acids. Today, researchers are not only working to understand how to better harness the CRISPR-Cas mechanism for more powerful gene editing, but also how to leverage these technologies for biotechnological and disease research applications.

In this virtual symposium brought to you by The Scientist, an expert panel will explore the latest research concerning CRISPR and its applications. They will discuss the underlying interactions underpinning CRISPR-Cas biology, how to manipulate and engineer CRISPR-Cas systems for improved gene editing, and how to leverage CRISPR-Cas for disease research and biotechnology development.

Symposium program

1:00 PM – Opening Remarks

1:10 PM- Improving Gene Editing Precision and Versatility Via Engineering

Benjamin Kleinstiver, PhD

1:45 PM – Pulling the Plug on Bacteriophage Infection: The Pore Behavior of Membrane Proteins that Reside Within RNA-Targeting CRISPR-Cas and other Antiphage Defense Systems

Mitchell O’Connell, PhD

2:20 PM – Idea to IND: Powering Tomorrow’s Therapies with CRISPR for Clinical Impact

Daksha Patel, PhD

2:45 PM - Harnessing CRISPR-Cas for Functional Genomics in Biotechnology Relevant Microbes

Carrie Eckert, PhD

3:20 PM- TBD

Erik Sontheimer, PhD

Benjamin Kleinstiver, PhD
Associate Investigator
Center for Genomic Medicine & Department of Pathology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Professor
Department of Pathology
Harvard Medical School

Mitchell O’Connell, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Center for RNA Biology
University of Rochester Medical Center

Daksha Patel, PhD
Sr. Segment Marketing Manager, Cell & Gene Therapy
Life Science Group
GenScript USA Inc.

Carrie Eckert, PhD
Synthetic Biology Group Lead
Biosciences Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Chief Science Officer
Center for Bioenergy Innovation
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Erik Sontheimer, PhD
Professor
Vice Chair, RNA Therapeutics Institute
Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Gold Sponsor