During this program one activity I enjoyed learning about is the basics of CRISPR. In a biotech class prior to this program, I learned about CRISPR briefly. And I was glad I had the opportunity to expand upon the topic. In the activity, I learned about how CRISPR is used to edit genes. For example, you can use CRISPR to take out a DNA sequence in a cell that could cause a mutation. Or you could use CRISPR to add a sequence of DNA into a cell.
The speaker for the talk was Laura Belmont. I like how they showed us some websites they use for their work. I also liked how they incorporated bioethics into the discussion.
The study I looked at is “New computational method opens a window into immune cell behavior”. In the study, they are trying to find the hidden biological patterns that link T cells, T receptor, and TCR gene receptors together. They plan to use a method called ConGA.
ConGA can help scientists improve cancer therapies such as cell inhibitors and CAR T cell immunotherapy.
CoNGA looks for similarities in highly populated areas of TCR. CoNGA looks for patterns in the graph above to find out how TCR helps control T cell behavior.
Image courtesy of the Bradley Lab