Translating CRISPR discoveries into versatile technologies.

CRISPR has become synonymous with revolutionary gene therapies as well as tools for crop enhancement, molecular diagnostics and research tools. However, it have a natural origin as part of adaptive immune systems in bacteria called CRISPR-Cas systems. Over the past 15 years, the research community at large has been intensely focused on identifying, cataloguing, and characterizing the many examples of these immune systems, where each new discovery has the potential to become new innovations and products. The Beisel group has been working at this interface between CRISPR biology and technologies, with the goal of translating new discoveries into advanced technologies to tackle pressing challenges in infectious disease. As one recent example, the group has been translating a recent discovery from their collaborators at the University of Würzburg into a suite of technologies for RNA detection and recording. Out of this work came two innovative technology platforms:  one platform called LEOPARD that offers the multiplexed detection of RNA biomarkers in a single reaction as well as another platform called TIGER that offers non-disruptive recording of RNA transcripts in single cells. Each has required the application of the design-build-test-learn cycle to advance each platform as well as develop defined design rules. Through engineering efforts based on Prof. Beisel’s training as a chemical engineering, the group is now developing LEOPARD for point-of-care molecular testing that combines the power of PCR with the accessibility of rapid tests, all with a multiplexed readout. This work is already in the process of being commercialized through the Helmholtz spin-off company Leopard Biosciences.