Next-gen CRISPR tools for manipulating organisms
Speaker: James Gagnon, University of Utah
New tools can enable us to ask new questions about biological systems. Since its emergence over a decade ago, CRISPR genome editing has become a widely-used tool for manipulating eukaryotic genomes. Beyond simple mutagenesis, CRISPR has also been employed in creative ways to study a myriad of biological processes. I will discuss our recent efforts to develop two CRISPR technologies – light-activated CRISPR and MIC-Drop-seq – and use them to study how zebrafish embryos deal with damage and assemble themselves into free-living organisms.
Event Details
- Date: November 3, 2025
- Time: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- Location: BST3 6014
About the Speaker
We develop from a single fertilized egg into adults with trillions of cells. What are the mechanisms that embryos use as they grow into adult organisms? How do we respond to injury, aging, and infection? What parts of our environment have shaped who we are? Our lab tackles these questions by bringing the tools and ideas of traditional developmental biology outside of the embryo to study topics like organ maintenance, pathogen defense, and ecological pressures. Our lab builds and uses a variety of techniques in zebrafish including CRISPR, single-cell sequencing, genetics, microscopy, and mathematics. Learn more: http://www.gagnonlab.org/