New progress is made every day regarding Crispr applications, known as “technology that can operate on DNA.” Speaking at the Crispr Circle event held at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Üsküdar Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan said, “Thanks to both gene deletion and gene repair, humanity, which has suffered from nearly 7,000 diseases throughout history, will now treat its diseases and reach healthy 2nd versions. Prescriptions can even be written for people before they are born.” TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, who participated in the event online, stated that Crispr Circle applications are a topic that can contribute to the solution of many future problems, not just human health, but also agriculture and animal husbandry. Mandal said, “Within the scope of our research projects support program for university students, we have 34 Crispr technology-focused projects. 10 of these belong to Üsküdar Üniversitesi students. I congratulate our students.”
TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Mandal: “10 of 34 Crispr projects belong to Üsküdar Üniversitesi.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi, continuing its work in the field of Crispr, organized a new event in this area. The Crispr Circle, a genetic editing and treatment event, was held by the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Student Branch Club. Many academics and students attended the event, which started with Organization Committee President İrem Köhserli thanking the Crispr Circle organization team.
Dr. Cihan Taştan: “Crispr entered our lives as a genetic engineering tool, Pandora’s box has been opened.”
Starting his speech with the words, “We will talk about Crispr applications through which we can genetically repair thousands of human diseases,” Üsküdar Üniversitesi Transgenic Cell Technologies and Epigenetics Application and Research Center (TRGENMER) Director, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Molecular Biology and Genetics Department Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan said, “The Crispr system, which won the Nobel Prize in 2020, entered our lives as a genetic engineering tool capable of altering the genetics of all living beings, especially in the past year; Pandora’s box has been opened. Genetic modification and development of hundreds of living organisms have been carried out with this system. Thus, thanks to both gene deletion and gene repair, humanity, which has suffered from nearly 7,000 diseases throughout hundreds of years of human history, will now be able to treat its diseases. Prescriptions can even be written for people before they are born. We have reached the pinnacle of personalized and targeted therapies.”
Dr. Taştan: “We are approaching a new era where most diseases will be treated”
Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan, mentioning that new generation vaccines and antiviral agents can also be produced with the Crispr system, as seen during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, said, “Therefore, we are approaching a new era in which most diseases are treated in the second version of humans, which we call transhumanism. Considering the importance and value of this era and how valuable it is for all our youth to know these methods, we initiated the Crispr Circle movement and event.”
Taştan concluded his speech by stating that students would be able to find answers to questions such as ‘What is Crispr? How are systems designed? What are the applications? How are projects designed? How are RNA designs and Crispr designs made? How is it proven how genetically modified cells work?’ How should the legal and ethical approach be defined?... at the organized event.
“We are talking about an important technology”
TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, who participated online in the event hosted by Üsküdar Üniversitesi, began his speech by thanking those who contributed to the organization of the event. Mandal said, “We try to support and contribute to the initiatives started by our student friends at every stage, regardless of where they are in Turkey or at what level. We are talking about an important technology. It became known with the Nobel Prize in 2020, but it is a subject with a much more significant history. Beyond scientifically profound hypotheses and assumptions, I consider its potential for humanity to be great in terms of its usability in real-world settings.”
“Not just human health, but a subject that can contribute to the solution of many problems”
Mandal stated that Crispr technologies are a new tool for rewriting the code of life, saying, “Their potential to affect multiple areas is very high. It is a subject that can contribute to the solution of many future problems, not just human health. In terms of its field, Crispr technologies are among the top 10 fields globally. It is a topic that will be much more on the agenda in the future.”
Great success of Üsküdar Üniversitesi students
Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal continued his speech by congratulating the students at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, saying, “We currently have 5,500 STAR scholarship students, 29 of whom are in the field of Crispr technologies. 3 of these are STAR scholarship projects involving Üsküdar Üniversitesi students. Within the scope of our research projects support program for university students, we also support 34 Crispr technology-focused projects. 10 of these belong to Üsküdar Üniversitesi. These are projects where students are the executors and managers… When we look at our future, our most important resource is our youth. Their organization of this event is a beautiful proof of this. I congratulate my student friends.”
“These studies will add value to us”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, who attended the event, stated that the initiatives undertaken by the university, academics, and students in scientific studies, research, and on a universal level are a source of pride, saying, “I am proud to be signing our professors’ and students’ projects in almost all categories of TÜBİTAK projects. We are proudly and admiringly observing that our professors and students have been working on this organization and scientific event for some time without leaving the laboratory. In this way, we will compete with the world and become a universal university. These studies will add value to us. That is what a university is. As long as TÜBİTAK is with us, we will accelerate this momentum, because we have a highly qualified scientific staff.”
Experts provided information on Crispr applications at the event
Within the scope of the Crispr Circle event; Asst. Prof. Cihan Aydın presented on “Crispr/Cas Enzymes in Genome Editing,” Assoc. Prof. Ozan Kocadağlı on “A New Era in Crispr: Artificial Intelligence,” Assoc. Prof. Musa Kavas on “Crispr/Cas9 Applications in Plant Breeding,” Attorney Yıldız Tuğçe Erduran on “Crispr and Ethics,” Elif Akçay on “Transhumanism,” and Prof. Dr. Sevim Işık on “Crispr and Stem Cell Technologies.” The event concluded with a theoretical and practical Crispr Workshop.
