Kiana Aran
University of California-San Diego, CA·Biomedical Engineering
Gene editing with CRISPR could cure inherited blood disorders such as sickle cell disease. The treatment only works well, though, if most of a patient's edited cells actually carry the correction.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Engineering
Genetics
- Topics
sickle cell disease
Cas9
gene editing
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Design CRISPR-transistor sensors that use a range of guide RNAs and Cas nucleases to electronically detect single-letter DNA changes, using the sickle cell HBB mutation as the model.
- Build a multiplexed graphene field-effect transistor (gFET) chip that tests one unamplified DNA sample with up to 16 different RNA-guided Cas complexes at once.
- Measure how efficiently CRISPR/Cas9 edits the HBB gene in blood stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from sickle cell patients, using the multiplexed CRISPR-transistor platform.
- Compare on- and off-target cutting by Cas nucleases, with chromatin present, using CRISPR-transistors, and benchmark the results against off-target screens such as CIRCLE-seq.
- Pilot and evaluate the SWAN semiconductor training center, combining SEMI University courses, NanoFab workshops and mentorship, using surveys, pre/post assessments and job placement tracking.
More about the research
Checking this today depends on slow, complex optical tests and cell sorting. The research in these grants pairs gene-editing tools with nanoscale electronics to build fast, simple sensors that read DNA directly. A second, separate project builds a training model to prepare students for jobs in the semiconductor industry.
Why it matters
Patients with sickle cell disease have a life expectancy shortened by about 30 years. The only current cure, a stem cell transplant from a donor, carries serious risks. A rapid electronic test of editing efficiency could help CRISPR gene therapies reach the level of edited cells needed to work. It could also cut processing time and the amount of sample needed for quality control. Separately, the training center could help fill the shortage of skilled semiconductor workers in the United States.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Reza Shahbazi
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, IN·Biomedical Engineering
Engineer biomimetic lipid nanoparticles that incorporate exosome components shown to interact specifically with long-term hematopoietic stem cells, the self-renewing bone marrow cells that produce all blood cell types.
Samuel Sternberg
Columbia University, NY·Biochemistry·Early-career
Determine how transposases and TnpB-family RNA-guided nucleases coordinate their enzyme activities, testing whether DNA cutting helps transposons survive and spread, using biochemistry and genetics.
Jinglei Ping
University of Massachusetts, MA·Biomedical Engineering·Early-career
Determine how DNA nanostructures tethered to a graphene transistor and oscillating in an alternating electric field produce electrical signals, exploiting the difference in flexibility between unpaired and paired strands.
The school
University of California-San Diego: 84 labs on PI Pages, $1.9B a year on research, 637 research doctorates a year.
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