OWENS LAB
News and Events
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We got a new grant!
News: JABSOM Researcher Secures NIH R01 Grant to Advance Safer, More Efficient Gene Editing Tools
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded JABSOM's Jesse Owens a highly competitive R01 grant for his lab’s groundbreaking work in gene editing technology.
Read more here.
Publication Accepted by NAR!
Gene-sized DNA insertion at genomic safe harbors in human cells using a site-directed transposase
Achieving precise and efficient integration of gene-sized DNA sequences into the human genome remains a major obstacle to gene therapy. Existing approaches depend on double-strand DNA breaks, which can lead to unintended genome alterations. Many monogenic diseases arise from diverse patient-specific mutations, making individualized correction impractical and underscoring the need for universal full-gene replacement strategies. We developed INsertion by Targeted Anchoring and Conditional Transposition (INTACT) to enable targeted insertion at genomic safe harbor loci.
Read the full publication here. (soon to be on NAR website)
Clara Errard Graduated!
Clara Errard successfully defended her Master’s thesis in the Cell and Molecular Biology program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research focused on developing a new genome engineering approach called IASO, which uses the piggyBac transposase system in innovative ways to explore how DNA can be precisely inserted into cells. Her work contributes to expanding the tools available for synthetic biology and gene therapy research. Clara’s project demonstrated creativity in designing non-traditional methods of integration and highlighted DNA repair pathways in these processes.
Following graduation, Clara is relocating to Washington, DC, where she is seeking opportunities to gain further clinical experience while she prepares for physician assistant school. She is excited to continue building her skills at the intersection of science and medicine and is currently awaiting admissions decisions as she takes the next steps in her career journey.
Publication accepted by NAR!
Directed evolution of hyperactive integrases for site specific insertion of transgenes
News: Gene Therapy Gets a Turbo Boost from JABSOM Researchers
The ability to deliver large transgenes to a single genomic sequence with high efficiency would accelerate biomedical interventions. Current methods suffer from low insertion efficiency and most rely on undesired double-strand DNA breaks. Serine integrases catalyze the insertion of large DNA cargos at attachment (att) sites. By targeting att sites to the genome using technologies such as prime editing, integrases can target safe loci while avoiding double-strand breaks. We developed a method of phage-assisted continuous evolution we call IntePACE, that we used to rapidly perform hundreds of rounds of mutagenesis to systematically improve activity of PhiC31 and Bxb1 serine integrases.
Read the publication here.
Read the news story here.