Brian Kang (FRAENKEL & FARHI LAB)

Pooled Optical Genetic Screens for Huntington’s Disease Research

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) of Huntington’s disease (HD) age of onset (AOO) have revealed modifiers of HD pathogenesis, but the mechanisms by which they act on HD pathophysiology remain unclear. We are developing a CRISPRi-based platform for measuring the effects of genetic perturbation on these modifiers in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived human neurons. Our approach combines computational methods for choosing targets and optical measurement of tens of proteins and hundreds of cellular phenotypes in a pooled format that can be used to study hundreds of individual gene targets in a single experiment.

Felicia Rodriguez (MANALIS LAB)

Leveraging Novel Blood Exchange in Mice: Interactions of Gut Microbiome, Immune System, and Tumors

There are many unanswered questions about how the gut microbiome can interact with the immune system and prime a response towards anti or pro tumor immunity. Using a novel blood exchange technique for mice, we demonstrate gut colonization with a bacterial strain of interest can suppress tumor growth at a distal site through anti-tumor factors transported in the temporarily shared circulatory system. Future work will explore which immune cell populations are influenced toward anti-tumor immunity by the gut microbiome.