The Woltjen Lab had the honor of being one of the hosting laboratories for the first-ever Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Sakura Science Program with Switzerland. This initiative promotes international collaboration by inviting talented young foreign researchers for short-term visits to Japan, providing them with the opportunity to engage with Japan’s cutting-edge science and technology while experiencing its rich culture.
As part of this program, we hosted Dennis Zorndt, a Research Assistant from the University of Zürich’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IREM) iPSC Core Facility. During his time with us, Dennis worked closely with our team to learn about precision gene editing and experimental design. We supported Dennis in designing a gene editing method to create a known human pathological deletion in human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells using CRISPR-Cas9 and Microhomology Mediated End Joining (MMEJ), a mechanism that leverages short homologous sequences for DNA repair.
This initiative not only advanced Dennis’s expertise but also strengthened the bond between University of Zürich and CiRA. We are looking forward to future collaborations!
