© MPI-CBG
The second edition of the EMBO Practical Course on Mouse Genome Engineering took place August 26 – September 5 in the MPI-CBG. After a successful premiere in 2017, this year’s course provided hands-on training in the latest techniques by leading experts in the field, complemented by a strong panel of speakers, including pioneers of CRISPR, mouse developmental biology, genetics and bioethics. 16 students from all over the world, 10 experienced instructors, and 17 high-profile speakers came together for this 2-week-course.
The field of mouse genetics was completely reshaped with the advent of new methods for genome engineering harnessing RNA-guided nucleases of the bacterial CRISPR/Cas system. Principally, new methods and dramatic improvements in existing techniques arrive with frequency, rarely seen in other fields, making it essential for scientists that require mouse genetics for their work to keep up with the rapid progress of the technology to enable the best possible science. This EMBO Practical Course provided hands-on practical training and talks on latest developments in this field.
The course was co-organized with the colleagues at the Medical Theoretical Center (MTZ) of the TU Dresden and the Czech Center for Phenogenomics near Prague. A trip to the CCP facility provided the participants with a firsthand impression of the wide panel of standardize phenotypic assays performed there and available to the community though the International Mouse Phenotyping Resource of Standardised Screens (IMPReSS).