CRISPR/Cas is a highly specific and efficient DNA/RNA sensing and cleavage system, which has become a breakthrough technology in gene editing and biosensing. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, i.e. the code that tells the nucleotide-enzyme system where and when to act. While the Cas enzymes (CRISPR associated enzymes) are the biological tools that realize the targeted cleavage in oligonucleotides. Though the investment in CRISPR/Cas has exploded, there are still large gaps in the central knowledge base. While CRISPR/Cas in an amazing tool for new science, it has also been recognized as a possible biothreat (Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community (2016): WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION), making thorough understanding of the system a strategic need. One area where NRL has the proper expertise to generate deeper understanding and obtain design principals is in the interface of CRISPR/Cas with nanoparticles (NPs) and 2-D surfaces. This program combines DNA nanotechnology and surface functionalization to further the fundamental understanding of CRISPR/Cas activity when the enzyme or substrate is conjugated to NP and 2-D surfaces. Success will improve CRISPR/Cas activity when surface bound, a key development for optimal sensing approaches, as well as developing safer more precise genome editing systems.

Example work: 

Christopher M. Green, Joseph Spangler, Kimihiro Susumu, David A. Stenger, Igor L. Medintz, and Sebastián A. Díaz, “Quantum Dot-Based Molecular Beacons for Quantitative Detection of Nucleic Acids with CRISPR/Cas(N) Nucleases” ACS Nano, 2022, 16, (12), 20693-20704, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c07749

Additional Benefits

Awardees who reside more than 50 miles from their host laboratory and remain on tenure for at least six months are eligible for paid relocation to within the vicinity of their host laboratory.

A group health insurance program is available to awardees and their qualifying dependents in the United States.