Joshua ElkingtonFounder and General Partner at Axial

Feng Zhang, The Future of Gene Editing

Name: Feng Zhang, The Future of Gene Editing
Uploaded: 2024-05-20T20:59:25+00:00
Duration: 59 s
Channel: Joshua Elkington
Description: In this opening segment of a talk at the Sterling 75 celebration, the speaker (Feng Zhang) introduces gene editing, outlining its promise for treating…

20 May 2024 · 1 min

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In this opening segment of a talk at the Sterling 75 celebration, the speaker (Feng Zhang) introduces gene editing, outlining its promise for treating many diseases. He highlights two pivotal advances that enable this promise: the completion of the human genome and the dramatic drop in DNA sequencing costs, which now allow sequencing of thousands to tens of thousands of individuals. By comparing these large genomic datasets, researchers can pinpoint genetic differences that underlie disease, citing sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis as concrete examples of mutations already identified. The speaker sets the stage for discussing how gene‑editing technologies can be developed and applied to these disease‑causing variants in the future.

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Hey, good afternoon. It's a real pleasure to be here and to be a part of the celebration for Sterling here at 75. I want to tell you a little bit about gene editing and what gene editing is and where gene editing is headed and how do we develop and apply technologies for modifying the genome with the potential to be able to treat many diseases. In the future. So one of the really exciting advances in biology has been the completion of the human genome. And the cost of human DNA sequencing has dropped precipitously. And so now we can sequence the genome of thousands or tens of thousands of individuals. So by comparing the genome of these individuals, we can find genetic differences that may underlie disease. So for example, some of the mutations that we have identified cause sickle cell disease or cystic fibrosis.