My name is Minal Gowda, and this summer I had the amazing opportunity to be able to be part of the Explorers program! It was a great way for me to get immersed into more science and exposed to more research careers, and I gained so much valuable knowledge from the program as a whole. We took tours of different kinds of researchers’ labs, did labs in our very own lab coats, listened to insightful guest speakers, and had the chance to meet people in all different stages of their careers.
One of my favorite things we did over the two weeks was a CRISPR Cas9 Lab. CRISPR is a tool that allows scientists to edit genes in DNA. The image below shows what the protein Cas9 does when it finds the gene in the DNA sequence it needs to edit.
At Fred Hutch, a lot of immunotherapy research goes on, and an important part of this includes making universal T-cells for treatments such as CAR T-cell therapy. A vital part of making universal T-cells is turning off the gene B2M, which is exactly what we did in this lab with CRISPR.
First, we prepared our samples in two tubes with the appropriate reagents, with each one having a different guide RNA.
Then, we poured our gel to run a gel electrophoresis, which was the next part of the lab that would determine whether the gene we were attempting to edit actually got edited. These were our results:
We had one tube successfully edit the gene we were targeting (well #3)! We know this because there are two bands fluorescing in the gel, meaning the gene was edited and cut by the Cas9 protein, leaving two different sizes of DNA.
In the picture above, my lab partner (Peyton) and I are noting down final observations about the gel.
Walking around the Hutch everyday made me realize what a warm and welcoming place it is, filled with thousands of revolutionary ideas and scientists. I am beyond grateful to have been a part of this program, meet the amazing people in my cohort, and learn more about the scientific research field!