The webinar Genomics Lite: Cancer mutations in focus is part of a free series aimed at upper secondary school students. A recording of the webinar, which took place in April 2023, along with useful resources mentioned during the presentation can be found on the Wellcome Connecting Science website.
This specific webinar focused on why gene mutations arise, how they can be beneficial or detrimental and how cancer can be studied in the lab. It was presented in lay language, with easy-to-understand terminology.
The presentation started with a brief introduction from the host and the speaker Dr Matthew (Matt) Coelho, a postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. His research focuses on the link between DNA mutations, cancer and treatment, through the use of CRISPR/Cas9 and organoids so his presentation also focused on some of these topics. Dr Coelho also briefly presented his quite impressive career journey with previous experience from the University of Cambridge, the Francis Crick Institute, London and AstraZeneca.
The overall topic of his presentation was understanding the concept of DNA mutations, defined as an error/mistake in our genetic code, and why it is important to study these mutations in the lab.
Our DNA, the instruction manual found in each cell, is copied each time a cell divides in a process called DNA replication. The two resulting daughter cells should contain exactly the same genetic information as the parent cell, however, mutations can happen throughout this process, which is important for evolution (variation is necessary). Yet, DNA mutations can also lead to diseases, such as cancer.
It is very important to understand the function of mutations that can lead to cancer, as they can be used for screening purposes, developing personalised medicine approaches and new therapies. Dr Coelho introduced one method that is being used in labs to replicate mutations and study their function. He showed a video presenting CRISPR/Cas9, which acts like a pair of scissors to cut the DNA so that specific mutations can be introduced. Using this approach, researchers can uncover how a specific mutation contributes to cancer development and why cancers eventually become resistant to certain therapies.
Throughout the live webinar attendees were able to submit their questions via a Q&A chat box, which were addressed during the last 20 minutes of the webinar. However, I think the webinar would have benefited from more interactivity and it would have been great if attendees were able to ask questions directly to the presenter.
I liked the fact that Dr Coelho expressed his hypothesis if he was not sure about any answers. In addition, the host was also very knowledgeable about the topic and tried to provide any useful resources or direct the audience to other webinars from the series that might be relevant. Questions were quite varied and covered therapies targeting the immune system to treat cancer, the evolution of cancer and the ethical question about using the lab technique CRISPR/Cas9 to treat cancer.
Dr Coelho had also prepared quick polls throughout the presentation, which kept the audience engaged, He also presented some interesting facts: for example, there is two metres of DNA in each cell of our bodies, and elephants are a lot less likely to develop cancer because they have a high number of copies of the TP53 gene, which is responsible for repairing DNA mistakes.
What I believe was lacking in this particular webinar episode was how the presentation flowed and would have benefited with better transition from the topic on mutations to cancer, which I felt jumped from the concept of mutations to cancer and how to grow cancer cells in the lab. Dr Coelho never defined the term cancer, which certainly would have been useful for the target audience.
Overall, this webinar is a good starting point, not only for students but also the general public interested in cancer and the ever-evolving field of oncology as the language used was pitched at an acceptable level. Although I had never heard of this webinar series, I would be curious to watch more episodes, especially on genome editing as it is a difficult topic to explain. I would also certainly recommend the series to friends and family who are keen to learn more about the science behind cancer. However, a one-hour presentation followed by Q&A was barely able to cover all the exciting developments in this field.
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