Project At CAS-AFS
Projects under CAS-AFS

NCGE- NATIONAL CENTER FOR GENOME EDITING

Description and Scope of Project

GENE EDITING OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS FOR NUTRITIONAL, BIOCHEMICALS AND THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES was approved by the DDWP in its meeting held on December 10, 2020 at a total cost of Rs. 1799.598 Million with gestation period of 36 months. The Admin. Approval of the project was issued on April 26, 2021. The Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR) is the lead executing agency with the fund allocation of 1299.64 Million. Whereas, the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) is co-executing agency with a share of Rs. 500.960 Million for execution of its component i.e. National Center for Genome Editing for Crop Improvement and Human Health (NCGE).

Based on engineered or bacterial nucleases, the development of genome editing technologies has opened up the possibility of directly targeting and modifying genomic sequences in almost all eukaryotic cells. Genome editing has extended our ability to elucidate the contribution of genetics to disease by promoting the creation of more accurate cellular and animal models of pathological processes and has began to show extraordinary potential in a variety of fields, ranging from basic research to applied biotechnology and biomedical research. Recent progress in developing programmable nucleases, such as zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas associated nucleases, has greatly expedited the progress of gene editing from concept to practice.

Current research on genome editing primarily concentrated on viral infections, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), metabolic disorders, primary defects of the immune system, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, and development of T-cell based anticancer immunotherapies. Some of these methods have gone beyond preclinical research and are recently undergoing phase 1/2 clinical trials.

Vision Statement

Gene editing is a new initiative within the bigger biotechnology domain and will provide the much needed indigenous capability to support the public sector and industrial upstream and downstream initiatives. The concept of this new initiative has been approved for inclusion in PSDP 2021-22 The internal feasibility has been prepared and made part of this PC-1.

Project Objectives

  • Development of genome editing laboratories for fruit, vegetable and field crops for improved productivity, quality and environmental resilience.

  • Development of in vitro CRISPR/Cas based human healthcare biotechnology laboratory for vector-borne viral and drug resistant pathogens.

  • Development of genome editing based novel diagnostic tools for human diseases.

  • Initiate a nationwide effort for the capacity building of public and private sectors to facilitate adoption of genome editing technology.

  • Build capacity by conducting trainings, workshops, seminars and research capability in advanced techniques of gene editing. Thus, poviding technical services by utilizing indigenous resources and saving precious foreign exchange in future.

Project Team
Project Manager
Prof. Dr. Sultan Habibullah Khan
Director CAS-AFS
Principal Investigators
Dr. Muhammad Imran Arshad
Professor
Dr. Iqrar Ahmed Rana
Associate Professor
Dr. Rizwana Maqbool
Associate Professor
Dr. Zaheer Ahmed
Associate Professor
Co-Principal Investigators
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Research Associates
Research Assistants
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