Haleta Ayalew L&S Biological Sciences
CPMP-Mediated Delivery of Cas12Pro: Miniaturized Precision Medicine
ZF5.3 and AV5.3 are Cell Permeant Mini Proteins (CPMPs): small molecules engineered to facilitate efficient cargo delivery directly into the cytosol of mammalian cells. A current research question in the Schepartz lab is whether CPMPs can be leveraged to improve the delivery of Cas9 nucleases. The Cas9 class of CRISPR nucleases, at about 160 kDa, are significantly larger than the optimal cargo for CPMP vehicles. Recent work has shown that a different class of Cas nucleases, Cas12, can be miniaturized, leading to smaller proteins with high nuclease activity such as Cas12Pro. My project aims to create ZF5.3-Cas12Pro and AV5.3-Cas12Pro fusion proteins and test their delivery efficiency and nuclease activity. In exploring and maintaining the efficiency and specificity of this protein-nuclease conjugate, a new method of therapeutic delivery can be uncovered as a model for precision medicine.
Message To Sponsor
A big thank you to my faculty sponsor and postdoctoral mentor for their support! The academic, personal, and professional significance of this opportunity is thanks to your guidance. I am beyond thankful for this privilege to develop the interdisciplinary research expertise I hope to apply to a career of biomedical research, public health practice, and ultimately, science for service.