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

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