Research AREA: Research and Development of Novel Genome Editing Tools
The Jones Lab was established in 2021 under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Jones. It is one of five inaugural research groups comprising the EMBL Partnership Institute at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center. The Partnership is centered on developing novel genome editing technologies through in vitro and in vivo research.
Programmable nucleases like CRISPR-Cas9 provide cures for leukemia and lymphoma, blindness and anemia. But because programmable nucleases evolved to counter rapidly mutating phages, and not for sequence-specific gene editing, they occasionally edit off-targets. Off-targets prevent CRISPR-based human therapies from meeting our do no harm standard, because they might have unintended consequences. But with thousands of programmable nucleases wielding diverse structures, mechanisms and kinetic regimes, nature’s diversity can overcome these therapeutic challenges – if we can find the right nucleases and understand how they operate.
To meet this challenge, the Jones Lab engineers and employs next-generation biochemistry methods. These methods integrate high-throughput DNA sequencing with bioinformatics and gold-standard biochemistry strategies to characterize the mechanisms and structure-function relationships of natural and engineered programmable nucleases. The nature of this work demands inter-disciplinary approaches, and our lab actively seeks teammates and collaborators within the Partnership and across the globe to achieve our goals. We invite you to follow or join us as we explore the next frontier in gene editing!”
Learn more about us at www.JonesLab.eu
Contact:
Stephen Knox Jones, Dr
VU LSC-EMBL Partnership Institute at the
Vilnius University Life Science Center,
7 Saulėtekio Ave, Room V325, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
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