SENSE.nano 2021: Functional genomics through the microscope

Paul Blainey, Associate Professor, MIT Biological Engineering Abstract: Genetic screens are important life science research tools that can teach us how genetic elements in our bodies’ cells relate to normal health, disease, and the way drug therapies work by checking the effects of engineered genetic changes in laboratory samples. Recently, CRISPR and other technologies have enabled screening of many genetic elements at once in ‘pooled’ formats. Here, Blainey presents optical pooled screening—a new method of pooled genetic screening–that enables researchers to link pooled genetic ‘perturbations’ with visually observable phenotypes in human cells. This works by sequencing a tag inside each cell that identifies the genetic perturbations present. Microscopy-based readout enables genetic screens for new types of biological functions and at scales needed for comprehensive ‘genome-wide’ screens of tens or hundreds of millions of cells. Biography: Paul Blainey is a core member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and an associate professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT. An expert in microanalysis systems for studies of individual molecules and cells, Blainey is applying such technologies to advance understanding of functional properties of molecules and cells and the mechanisms underlying these properties. Broadly, research in the Blainey group integrates molecular, optical, microfluidic, and computational tools to understand and engineer cellular activities related to a wide range of health challenges. ---------------------------------------------------- The 2021 SENSE.nano symposium focused on human subjects research, exploring how sensors and sensing systems can enable current medical studies and future clinical practice. SENSE.nano 2021 also celebrated the re-opening of the expanded Clinical Research Center (CRC) at MIT, now known as MIT's Center for Clinical and Translational Research. Broken into two half-day webinars, SENSE.nano 2021 investigated human health through various technologies including motion capture, physiological monitoring, and sensing tools for the study of bodily fluids. Over a series of invited technical talks, panel discussions, presentations by MIT-launched startups, and views into MIT research today with current graduate students, this event provided needs context and solution perspectives in the domains of sensing for medical engineering and science, and for the care of humans in their environment. The 2021 SENSE.nano Symposium was sponsored by MIT.nano, MIT's Center for Clinical and Translational Research, and the MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP).