Identifying novel Cas variants for pathogen diagnostics
ApplyProject Description
Rapid, point-of-care (POC) diagnostics are essential to mitigate the impacts of current (and future) epidemics; however, current methods for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) require complicated laboratory tests that are generally conducted off-site and require substantial time. CRISPR-Cas systems have been harnessed to develop sensitive and specific platforms for nucleic acid detection. These detection platforms take advantage of CRISPR enzymes’ RNA-guided specificity for RNA and DNA targets and collateral trans activities on single-stranded RNA and DNA reporters. Microbial genomes possess an extensive range of CRISPR enzymes with different specificities and levels of collateral activity; identifying new enzymes may improve CRISPR-based diagnostics. We work to identify new Cas variants, and characterize its catalytic activity.



About the
Researcher
Magdy Mahfouz

Desired Project Deliverables
Training on different molecular biology techniques and comprehending the components and mechanisms of the CRSIPR-Cas systems.