NYSCF-Supported Research Named Among Top Technical Advances of 2017

The Scientist magazine recently named their top 6 technical advances of 2017, and their list included 3 discoveries pioneered by NYSCF Investigators.

The first advancement was RNA editing using CRISPR-Cas, a project spearheaded by MIT professor and NYSCF — Robertson Investigator Feng Zhang, PhD. CRISPR-Cas is a gene-editing tool that is typically used to permanently modify DNA, but this new technique allows it to reversibly modify RNA instead, making its use less risky. Read more about it here.

The second advancement is robotic patch clamping—a method for monitoring the activity of a selected individual neuron in the brain. This breakthrough was pioneered by MIT professor and NYSCF — Robertson Neuroscience Investigator alumnus Ed Boyden, PhD. Patch clamping is typically done manually, and only a small number people in the world can perform it. Automating the process with robots will allow more labs to use this technique. Read more about it here.

Lastly, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, including NYSCF — Druckenmiller Fellow Raphael Lis, PhD, developed a method for creating blood stem cells in the lab by exposing mouse endothelial tissue to cells that mimicked a vascular environment. These results have promising implications for treatment of human blood diseases like leukemia. Read more about it here.