CRISPR and Beyond: Perturbations at Scale to Understand Genomes

The rapid development of CRISPR/Cas-based technologies makes it possible to modulate genomes with relative ease. These tools can help us understand how genetic variation influences phenotype and thereby answer long-standing questions in biology that impact human health, laying the foundations for precision medicine for heritable diseases and cancer treatment.

Our fifth conference will provide a forum for biomedical researchers from academia and industry working on high throughput screening, genome engineering, and variant effect interpretation to discuss perturbations at scale to understand genomes.

This year’s meeting will highlight recent advances enabled by emerging technologies and models, including computational approaches and designing DNA for function. Discussions will focus on the recent discoveries in precision genome editing, coding and non-coding variation and genetic interactions. A panel discussion will probe how generative modelling and other applications of machine learning are shaping the present and future of the field, and impacting experimentation.

The programme will also include short oral presentations selected from abstracts, posters, poster pitches, discussion sessions and networking opportunities for a highly interactive meeting.

The conference will start at approximately 12.00 on Monday 22 April and close at approximately 13.00 on Wednesday 24 April 2024. All times are in BST.

Discussions will focus on a variety of exciting topics, including:

• Emerging technologies and models
• Computational models and integration
• Coding & non-coding variation
• Gene engineering technologies
• Genetic interactions
• Precision editing and delivery systems
• Will AI ever replace experiments? (panel discussion)

Scientific programme committee

Britt Adamson
Princeton University, USA

Martin Kircher
Berlin Institute of Health, Germany

Leopold Parts 
Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK

Lea Starita
University of Washington, USA

Keynote speaker

Brenda Andrews
University of Toronto, Canada

Confirmed speakers

Mandana Arbab
Boston Children's Hospital, USA

Wendy Bickmore
University of Edinburgh, UK

Julien Gagneur
Technical University of Munich, Germany

Francesco Iorio
Human Technopole, Italy

Hyongbum Henry Kim
Yonsei University, South Korea

Tuuli Lappalainen
New York Genome Center, USA/KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Mo Lotfollahi
Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK

Thomas Norman
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA

Randall J. Platt
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Paula Rio
The Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Spain

Seth Shipman
University of California, San Francisco, USA

Britta Velten
Heidelberg University, Germany

Organisers – Wellcome Connecting Science

Lucy Criddle, Conference & events organiser
Scarlett Storr, Conference & events coordinator
Nagehan Ramazanoğlu Bahadır, Programme developer

Registration deadline: 26 March (in person) | 15 April 2024 (virtual)

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 22 and 23 April 2024.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended.

If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas
Citizens of many countries can travel to the UK to attend a course or conference without needing a visa. Please check the UK government website for visitor information: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor.

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact the event organiser.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 30 January 2024

A limited number of registration bursaries are available to attend this conference in person (up to 50% of the registration fee). Priority will be given to PhD students submitting abstracts who are facing financial barriers.

To apply, please use the dedicated bursary application link on the registration site. Please answer the bursary-related questions and submit an abstract before midnight UK time on the bursary deadline for your application to be considered.

Additional funding opportunities

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 27 February 2024

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Presenters of oral presentations as expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions given to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. You can make changes to your submitted abstract before of the deadline by logging into your account and following the instructions

If you have already completed your registration and subsequently wish to submit an abstract, or wish to submit a second abstract, please follow these instructions.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference. All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.

With thanks to our sponsors:

If you are interested in supporting this meeting, please contact the sponsorship manager.

See our sponsorship page for information about the benefits.

Delegate feedback from 2022 conference:

“I really like the breadth of the conference – methods development, disease applications, fundamental biology. I also like that there is a lot of time for questions rather than trying to have longer talks.”

“It’s a really friendly conference. Excellent speakers with good breadth of topics. Good opportunities to chat to other attendees.”

“I will be happy if I get another opportunity to participate. This conference was very budget friendly to the international students who have financial issues. I really appreciate the organization for organizing these kind of events and giving the opportunity to students to open up themselves to learn and share their research. I wish to participate again!”