Director Mattaj comments on the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2020
07 October 2020
Director Mattaj comments on the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2020
Director Iain Mattaj commented the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry: “The Nobel prize awarded to Charpentier and Doudna is very well deserved. CRISPR is a typical example of a discovery which initially seemed interesting to a limited, niche group of scientists studying bacterial evolution. It has since become a fundamental tool for biology and subsequently an experimental tool for therapies linked to human health.
Genetic engineering, first achieved in 1972, is the ability to manipulate the structure and composition of DNA molecules by “cutting and pasting”. It allows us to learn what genes do, how they work and why they go wrong.
CRISPR technology has the potential to make the “dream” of genetic engineering come true: to make specific, targeted changes in the genome of any organism.
Since the breakthrough of Charpentier and Doudna, thousands of experiments have been published showing that CRISPR systems work to enable “cut and paste” experiments in the genomes of a large variety of organisms, including human cells and organoids in culture. Off-target side effects are limited and can be measured and controlled. This progress is already enabling clinical trials of the use of CRISPR in certain types of cancer treatment. Once its safety is established, the method will be applicable to many genetic disease states, and also potentially to treat parasites that infect or damage humans, like viruses.
Meanwhile, researchers are applying the method to a wide variety of questions. At Human Technopole for example, we are using it to help understand neurodevelopmental disorders, to identify promising drug targets in different cancers and to understand aspects of the evolution of the brain.”
For the first time in nearly 20 years, Italy wins a Fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP): our Karthik Ramanadane, Postdoc in the Coscia Group (Structural Biology), will pursue a challenging project on the molecular mechanisms of the thyroid at Human Technopole.
Two research projects from Human Technopole have won the Fondazione Telethon and Cariplo grant to uncover the genetic and molecular mechanisms of acute myeloid leukemia and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The projects, led by Alice Giustacchini (Group Leader of Genomics) and Emanuele Villa and Nicolò Caporale (Testa Group, Neurogenomics), have been respectively funded with €230,000 and €250,000.
Two Human Technopole researchers have been awarded the Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship, one of the most prestigious fellowships for early career researchers: Dr. Carlos Jiménez and Dr. Albert Navarro Gallinad. Dr. Navarro Gallinad’s research project, presented today on National Women’s Health Day, will investigate the environmental risks faced by pregnant women by analysing almost 1,000,000 births in Lombardy over the last twelve years. Dr. Jiménez will study how the spatial arrangement of nuclear proteins contributes to optimal cell functioning.
Three young scientists from Human Technopole have, for the first time since its foundation, obtained a doctoral degree while pursuing their research within the institute: Alessandro Vinceti, Davide Castaldi, and Marco Tullio Rigoli, all enrolled in the systems medicine programme of the European School of Molecular Medicine (SEMM).
Milan also means research, and this year Human Technopole is taking part in the city’s promotional campaign for the Milan Design Week, which will take place from 15 to 21 April 2024.
Manage Cookie Consent
This website uses technical cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience and, subject to your consent, profiling cookies to offer you information and advertising in line with your preferences. For more details, you can consult our cookie policy by clicking on the link below, or set your preferences by clicking "set preferences". By selecting "accept cookies" you consent to the use of all types of cookies while you can revoke your consent by clicking on "refuse". By deciding to refuse or closing the banner, only the technical cookies necessary for the correct functioning of the site will be activated.
Technical cookies (required)
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Third party cookies for statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Third party cookies for profiling
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.