First talk! (#2) - FISH & CRISPR

For our second talk to kick off GESPho we welcome Greta Daae Sandsdalen. She is a PhD student at UiT and will talk about her work in the project FISH&CRISPR!

She has been working on the FISH&CRISPR project which is a collaboration between the Institute of Chemistry, Pharmacy and the Fishery college.

Her affiliation is at the Institute of Chemistry, in the Biological Chemistry and Bioinformatics (BCB) group. Additionally, she is part of the Enzyme Discovery and Design group.

She has been working on discovering and characterizing novel CRISPR-Cas enzymes for genome editing at low temperatures. The CRISPR-Cas system has transformed molecular biology, but most tools are optimized for organisms living at 37ºC, limiting their use in cold-adapted species such as salmon. As part of the UiT strategic project FISH&CRISPR, she set out to develop a CRISPR-Cas system tailored for low temperatures. Using bioinformatics, she identified Cas enzyme variants from cold-adapted bacteria and tested five candidates through recombinant expression and biochemical assays. One enzyme showed strong cold-tolerant activity and stable DNA cleavage across a wide temperature range. This discovery extends the CRISPR toolkit and opens new possibilities for genome editing in cold-living organisms.

The Fish Immunology and Vaccinology (FIV) group focuses on Atlantic salmon, a cornerstone species in the aquaculture industry. Their goal is to better understand the immune system of teleost fish and to support the development of innovative vaccines against diseases that affect farmed fish. Projects include designing a new generation of DNA vaccines for Atlantic salmon, applying CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tools in salmonid cell lines, and uncovering fundamental insights into both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses.

Please join us on September 19th to listen to the first GESPho session!

Join the meeting now 

Meeting ID: 389 755 516 362 7

Passcode: B7Kf6dt7