DNA Detectives! Uncovering the Links from Genes to Disease...

What do your genes have to do with wheezing, sneezing, and puffing on an inhaler? Turns out—a lot! Join us for a fun dive into the DNA behind asthma. We’ll explore how your genetic code can crank up the sniffles or calm them down—and what that means for future treatments. Spoiler: your genome might just hold the key to breathing easier!

We all know skin cysts — little fluid-filled lumps that pop up out of nowhere. You might have seen them on Dr Pimple Popper, or even had one yourself. But what if you had hundreds of them, inflamed and causing serious pain and scarring? That’s the daily reality for patients with a rare genetic skin condition, Steatocystoma Multiplex, which Dr Marianne de Brito is researching. By sequencing cysts at different stages of their development, she’s digging into the genetic programs that drive their formation — revealing how skin cells go off course and form cysts in the first place. Understanding these early steps could unlock the path to brand-new treatments for a debilitating disease that currently has no cure as well as for other similar, more common cystic conditions.