Dr. Stephen Knox Jones, a scientist at Vilnius University's (VU) Life Sciences Center (LSC), and his laboratory have won a major award at the first-ever Life Sciences Progress Awards.
The VU scientist was named the winner in the Breakthrough Science category. Dr. Jones and his team received a €1.2 million grant from the European Research Council for a project to develop reliable and predictable gene editing tools.
The aim of the study "Nuclease profiling and the use of off-targets to extend gene editing," which brings together chemistry, biology, and epigenetics, by the VU researcher and his team, is to characterize a broad class of programmable nuclease types with a focus on revealing their specificity mechanisms, with a view to the development and deployment of next-generation biochemical approaches. They combine high-throughput DNA sequencing with classical biochemistry and bioinformatics.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB has been named Lithuanian Life Sciences Ambassador for its representation and promotion of the life sciences in the country and beyond. The company's one of the largest facilities in Vilnius employs more than 1500 highly qualified specialists, and its R&D Center in the Lithuanian capital is one of the largest research centers in the region. The company pays special attention to the popularisation of life sciences - it has been carrying out unique science dissemination projects for years and supports youth initiatives. "Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics" has been awarded the title of VU Patron.
All winners of the Life Sciences Progress Awards 2024 will be invited to represent this ecosystem at Life Sciences Baltics 2025, one of the largest forums in the region dedicated to life sciences.
"The Life Sciences Progress Awards" are designed to honour Lithuanian scientists, researchers, start-ups and companies that have made the biggest breakthroughs in the life sciences sector. After assessing the growth in the field over the last few years, the Innovation Agency announced the winners in the categories of Science, Start-up, Business Breakthrough, Lithuanian Life Sciences Ambassador and Energy of the Year.
Text based on information from the Innovation Agency