It’s all in the genes

Emery/Weiner students in Ms. Heidi Tarr’s AP biology class were the first high school students in the world to conduct the CRISPR-Cas9 lab developed by MiniPCR. Students worked to edit genes using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology that won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. MiniPCR had reached out to Ms. Tarr to request help with the piloting and changing protocol portions of the development of the lab. She was sent a trial kit and performed the lab, making and reporting adjustments that were needed. Based on her feedback, Emery students were provided with a new version of the lab. This lab serves as an introduction to genome editing for students; the class practiced micro-pipetting and bacterial-transformation techniques. Over a two-day process, the class used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to disrupt a gene in bacteria and observe a clear phenotypic change as a result. Pictured are Emma Barber (on left) and Heidi Tarr. 

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