Nobel prize in Chemistry

BètaBreak edition January 2021

Last year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to professor Jennifer Doudna and professor Emanuelle Charpentier for the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 technique. In the past decade, this gene editing technology has been developed at a rapid pace. CRISPR-Cas9 makes it possible to precisely adjust tiny pieces of DNA and is being developed with the goal to cure genetic diseases. This technology will therefore most likely be used in medicine in the future. Due to its broad applicability in gene editing, it could also be used for other purposes which brings up a lot of ethical questions.

On the occasion of the Nobel Prize award for CRISPR-Cas9, the Women in the Faculty of Science - Student Chapter and the BètaBreak (@betabreak.uva) have joined forces to present you a panel discussion about this gene editing technique, the ethical questions surrounding it, and the role of women in science.

Speakers

Dr. Pernette Verschure (Researcher of medical applications CRISPR-Cas9)

Wen Wu, MSc. (Fundamental CRISPR-Cas9 researcher)

Dr. Jeantine Lunshof (Bioethicist)