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gene editing

The 4th training week – In the core of NATURE-ETN

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Early-stage researchers (ESRs) and principal investigators have been invited to attend the 4th training week at Dublin City University where this EU-funded research consortium was born.

Prof. Andrew Kellett first gave an update on the project before introducing Prof. Nicholas Farrell from Virginia Commonwealth University (US), who is one of the scientific advisors of NATURE-ETN and is interested in Glycosaminoglycans as signalling molecules. He talked about his latest results and joked about how retiring is difficult when you can’t stop looking for more results.

Each ESR presented their results obtained so far followed by questions, comments, and discussions for future ideas. On Thursday, a team from the German biophysical instrument manufacturer NanoTemper delivered training on the Monolith technologies in Andrew Kellett’s lab to ESRs who had the opportunity to prepare the samples, learn how to read the results, and think about how this technology can be applied to their projects.

Finally, on the last day of the training week, ESRs were hosted by Prof. Niall Barron at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT). Prof. Barron explained the advanced therapy medicinal products, emphasizing the need to keep in mind the patient delivery process while obtaining basic research results. ESRs conducted a complete tour guided by Dr Adam Pritchard who showed and explained the technologies behind the bioproduction of recombinant proteins, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies.

Before saying goodbye, the ESRs decided to go for a walk together. This time down to the lighthouse at Dún Laoghaire, a small town outside the busy Dublin. Prof. Barron mentioned Emerson who said, “Science does not know its debt to imagination”, and isn’t the sea the best place to clear the mind and fire the imagination?

In this training week, new collaborations were created between ESRs, wrapping up before departing to their different locations in Europe, where they will bring home new ideas to apply in their labs and Irish souvenirs!

By Ahmad Abdullrahman (ESR4)

Jamie’s secondment at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology completed

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Our ESR Chun Yin (Jamie) Chan from the Carell group at LMU had the opportunity to go on secondment at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK, from July to October 2022.

The MRC LMB is one of the world’s leading research institutes in molecular biology. Jamie joined the group led by Dr. Philipp Holliger, which focuses on chemical biology, synthetic biology and in vitro evolution. The Holliger lab investigates fundamental questions of the chemical logic and constraints of molecular information encoding and the encoded synthesis; replication and evolution of novel sequence-defined biopolymers for applications in biotechnology and medicine; and the emergence of genetic function in chemical systems.

During his stay, Jamie explored the capacity of a recently discovered RNA polymerase ribozyme utilising trinucleotide triphosphates (triplets) as substrates to incorporate chemically modified triplets, for example, for the template-directed and sequence-specific positioning of chemical groups in nucleic acid polymers, and investigated how could these modifications possibly impact the ribozyme’s polymerisation in terms of fidelity, activity and chemical space for evolution in a prebiotic scenario.

Second training week – Entrepreneurship, IP and ESR updates

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From the 13th to the 15th of September 2021, the ESRs took part in the second online NATURE-ETN training week.

In the first two days, the ESRs updated each other on their progress and receive valuable feedback from their peers and PIs. Potential opportunities for collaboration and secondments were also explored.

On the third day, Dr. Thomas Frischmuth, CEO of baseclick GmbH, provided two training sessions on entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property (IP). Using the leading biotechnological company and NATURE-ETN beneficiary baseclick as a basis, Dr. Frischmuth shared his experience and perspectives in terms of business models and company growth. During the IP session, the ESRs were introduced to internal vs. external IP, patent filing strategies, and examples of European and national patenting processes.

First training week – combining soft and technical skills

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From the 18th to the 22nd of June 2021, the ESRs took part in the first NATURE-ETN training week, which covered a mix between soft and technical skills. The training was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel limitations.

During the first day, the ESRs were introduced to Hugh Kearns’ (ThinkWell) Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Research Students.

In this workshop, Kearns described key habits that help PhD students complete their research project efficiently, ensuring appropriate work-life balance and overcoming issues such as writer’s block and imposter syndrome.  
 
The second day started with a training session on Research Project Management from the partner organisation accelopment Switzerland Ltd.
 
The training covered aspects such as project planning, project monitoring, reporting, risk management, and project communication.

The scientific training consisted of both live and pre-recorded (asynchronous) lectures and the materials will remain available to the ESRs for future references.

Prof Tom Brown from the University of Oxford gave introductory and advanced lectures on the Synthesis of Biomolecules. This training notably covered nucleic acid structures, as well as oligonucleotide synthesis and their use as drugs in genetic and forensic analyses.
 
Dr Tom Brown Jnr from the oligonucleotide synthesis company ATDBio provided additional insights from more applied and commercial perspectives, and an introduction to ATDBio’s activities.
 
On the third and last day, Prof Andrew Kellett, Coordinator of NATURE-ETN, and his team at the Dublin City University (DCU) introduced the ESRs to artificial gene editing systems and molecular methods.

Prof Andrew Kellett discussed in detail metallodrug-DNA interactions, chemical nucleases, and advanced hybrid biomaterials for gene editing using click chemistry. Pre-recorded lectures with the principles of novel methodologies, techniques, and biophysical assays developed within the Kellett group were followed by high-quality virtual laboratory sessions recorded at the exceptionally well-equipped facilities at DCU.

This was the first of a series of training events that will be held both online and in-person throughout the project duration.