Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. Choi [HHMI Fellow] aims to develop a genome editing technology based on CRISPR prime editing that allows precise excision of the genomic regions and traces the path that cells took during cancer development. Complex biological phenomena like cancer formation and development can result from a series of simple cellular events, such as the accumulation of mutations in the genome. However, the contribution of each mutation to cancer development is challenging to measure, especially when it occurs in the genomic region that likely alters the protein expression level but not the protein function. This work paves the way to study genome function at high precision, critically relevant for understanding how genetic elements affect cancer developments and has a potential as a therapeutic to precisely remove pathogenic genetic elements.