Imagining CRISPR Cures | Fyodor Urnov | TEDxBerkeley 

Fyodor Urnov explores the future of CRISPR and how it has the potential to save lives. Professor Fyodor Urnov is a Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a Director at its Innovative Genomics Institute, leading the Center for Translational Genomics and directing the Technology & Translation division. A pioneer in the field of therapeutic genome editing, Fyodor’s research focuses on advancing genome editing technology and pushing the boundaries of how it can be applied to solve real-world biomedical problems. In his work at Sangamo Therapeutics (2000-16), Fyodor and colleagues demonstrated the first use of native gene editing in human cells and coined the term “genome editing.” Fyodor then led collaborative teams to establish at-scale applications of genome editing for human somatic cell genetics and model animal and crop reverse genetics. Fyodor was a key member of the team that developed the first-in-human clinical application of genome editing (2009), and then led a from basic discovery to clinic an approach to use gene editing to treat the hemoglobinopathies, beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease, that has resulted in sustained clinical benefit for over 70 individuals. At the IGI, Fyodor focuses on establishing turnkey editing of the human genome for clinical use and make CRISPR-based treatments for genetic disease broadly and equitably available on-demand. He works in collaborative teams to develop first-in-human applications of experimental CRISPR-based therapeutics for sickle cell disease, genetic disorders of the immune system, radiation injury, neuroinflammation, and neurological disorders. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx