Synthego Announces Winners of the $100,000 Synthetic CRISPR sgRNA Grant for Increased Precision in CRISPR Research

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 4, 2017) - Synthego, a leading provider of genome engineering solutions, today announces the winners of its $100,000 synthetic sgRNA grant giveaway. Based on the overwhelming interest and the quality of applications received, the original goal of awarding five winners was extended to include three additional grant recipients, each receiving $20,000 worth of synthetic sgRNA for CRISPR genome editing.

The eight winners of the grant include:

1. George Washington University
2. John Wayne Cancer Institute
3. Michigan State University
4. University of California San Diego
5. University of Florida
6. University of Freiburg Medical Center
7. University of Oxford
8. VIB (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie)
   
   

The grant enables these institutions to more effectively conduct CRISPR genome engineering research in a number of application areas. John Wayne Cancer Institute, for example, is conducting research on translational molecular medicine, and the University of California San Diego is exploring the ability of neurons to grow following spinal cord injuries.

"Our research on translational molecular medicine and molecular oncology requires the highest efficiency and consistency of experiments. With the use of synthetic sgRNA for cancer genome editing, I am convinced that the results will be significantly superior to other methods," said Diego Marzese, PhD, Assistant Professor, John Wayne Cancer Institute.

"The use of IVT kits can produce varying quality of gRNA for our axon growth experiments depending on the target sequence. Our use of synthetic sgRNA would be to greatly reduce or eliminate such inconsistencies to achieve higher editing efficiencies," said Cedric Geoffroy, PhD, Assistant Project Scientist II, Department of Neurosciences at the University of California San Diego.

Areas of research represented by the winners are broad and varied: research in gene therapy for a rare immunodeficiency disorder, AD-HIES; cattle fertility and embryonic development; models for studying Alzheimer's disease; Hyper-immunoglobulin E Syndrome; development of applications to treat invasive bladder cancer; translational molecular medicine for cancer; stem cell development in marine organisms; determining the genome characteristics of butterfly wing patterns.

"We are impressed by the quality and number of applicants," said Ted Tisch, COO at Synthego. "The broad scope of applications shows the variety and nearly limitless applications of CRISPR genome engineering. Synthego is proud to play a role in advancing research worldwide."

Synthego is committed to supporting scientific research around the world, and is actively working with leading institutions as well as key opinion leaders in the field of CRISPR genome engineering.

For more information on Synthego visit: www.synthego.com.

About Synthego
Founded by former SpaceX engineers, Synthego is a leading provider of genome engineering solutions. The company's flagship product, CRISPRevolution, is a portfolio of synthetic RNA designed for CRISPR genome editing and research. Synthego's vision is to bring precision and automation to genome engineering, enabling rapid and cost-effective research with consistent results for every scientist.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Synthego customers include leading institutions in over 30 countries around the world and 10 of the top 10 global biology and biochemistry universities.