Irma Querques

Editing the string of genetic instructions that make us function as humans holds the potential for correcting the errors that are at the very basis of many diseases, including heritable disorders and cancer. Transposons are snippets of DNA that move from one place to another, modifying and transferring genetic information in all living organisms. Irma Querques from the Max Perutz Labs and her team will study the diverse molecular mechanisms that transposons use to mobilize DNA in nature and exploit these insights to inform their development into next-generation genome editing tools. Her ERC-funded research project BROADCAST will provide unprecedented insights into the molecular machinery that allows transposon to ‘jump’, reveal how transposons move in the cellular context and explore their potential for diverse biotechnology applications.