Fahar Ibtisham

Project Summary: The primary cause of death in most developed countries is organ failure, such as heart, lung, kidney, or liver failure. According to the World Health Organization, only 10% of the worldwide organ demand is met by organ donation. Moreover, the donor organ shortage is expected to worsen due to the aging population. Various strategies have been implemented to address this issue, but the most practical solution to meet the organ demand is through xenotransplantation, which involves the transplantation of animal organs into humans. Pigs are considered the best choice because they have organ sizes comparable to humans, breed quickly, have large litters, and share several pathophysiological compatibilities with humans. However, immediate organ rejection and potential transmission of animal diseases have made transplanting pig organs into humans problematic. Fortunately, new-age genome editing technology has made it possible to eliminate undesired elements from the pig genome while adding desired genes. Therefore, the current project aims to explore novel genetic modification approaches, such as CRISPR, to produce transgenic pigs suitable for xenotransplantation.

Internal Mentor: Dr. Ali Honaramooz

External Mentors: Dr. Paul Keown, Founder and CEO of SYREON Corporation