USP Seminar Host Dr. Charles Gersbach’s Lab Makes Global Headlines on CRISPR Research

On November 18, 2015, the University Scholars Program hosted Dr. Charles Gersbach on “Redesigning Genomes for Science, Medicine, and Biotechnology.” Dr. Gersbach is an Associate Professor at Duke University in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, an Investigator in the Duke Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, and Director of the Duke Center for Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering.  His research interests are in genome and epigenome editing, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, biomolecular and cellular engineering, synthetic biology, and genomics.  Dr. Gersbach’s laboratory at Duke University is focused on applying molecular and cellular engineering to develop new methods to genetically modify genome sequences and cellular gene networks in a precise and targeted manner.

In December 2015, members of the Gersbach lab published their research in the prestigious journal Science on “In vivo genome editing improves muscle function in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.”  The news has circulated widely, with reports in Duke Today, New York Times, Science Magazine, The Guardian, BBC, Stat News, GEN News, and Rare Disease Report.