Now out in @elife, @SarahPerlee’s Ph.D. work developing a powerful way to knock genes out in #melanocytes and #melanoma cells. She created #zebrafish that allow for efficient CRISPR editing, and found unexpected things about genes required for these cells to thrive: elifesciences.org/articles/1…
Sep 4, 2025 · 2:36 PM UTC
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For example, knocking out SOX10, long considered the most essential gene for melanoma survival, can unexpectedly produce tumors that escape, turn on SOX9 instead, and appear more invasive and aggressive. An important insight about the promise as well as the perils of targeting transcription factors in cancer?
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We learned a lot in this project from both a technical and biological standpoint. Sarah is one of the best geneticists I’ve worked with, and I could not have asked for a better student. Despite COVID and despite a lab move, she thrived, persevered and grew into a remarkable scientist.
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Many thanks to our collaborators Miranda Hunter, @YilunMa_, Jacob Swanson, @Nelly_M_Cruz, Zhitao Ming, Julia Xia, Timothee Lionnet and @maura_mcgrail, along with funding from @MelanomaReAlli.
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And now excited to see Sarah’s success as part of the @PershingSqFdn team!
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