Genome Manipulation

Pioneering the practice of liver transplantation invited a number of challenges. Even, my successful preclinical experiments had been met with a degree of skepticism. I will describing the challenges of human biology that have been partially overcome and those that persist in the present day. A bit of biological science relevant to transplantation will also be explained. In light of recent scandalous events, the important question of credibility, will also be explored.

Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and histone marks are often relatively stable in differentiated and in adult tissues in the body, where they help to confer a stable cell identity on tissues. The process of epigenetic reprogramming, by which many of these marks are removed from DNA, is important for the function of embryonic stem cells and in reprogramming stem cells from adult tissue cells. When this erasure goes wrong there may be adverse consequences for healthy development and ageing, which can potentially extend over more than one generation. More details to follow.

A powerful new tool for genome editing, known as CRISPR-Cas9, is an RNA-guided endonuclease discovered in bacteria. The discovery is notable because the enzyme can edit the genome of virtually any eukaryotic cell or embryo. In this lecture, I will discuss some of the far-reaching applications of CRISPR-Cas9 in basic research, biotechnology and the clinic. The ultimate use of CRISPR-Cas9 to modify the human germline particularly deserves attention and vigorous debate.