Accelerating Evolution to Create New Medicines – Front Row lecture with Christian Diercks, PhD Biologic drugs account for about a quarter of recent drug approvals, and most are antibodies. Although antibodies have transformed treatment for many conditions, they mainly work by binding to their targets. But some diseases may benefit more from therapeutics that can selectively alter those targets instead. In this free Front Row lecture, Assistant Professor Christian Diercks will discuss how he harnesses accelerated evolution—a laboratory process that speeds up cycles of genetic change and selection—to engineer therapeutic enzymes that actively break down or modify disease-related molecules. At the center of this work is T7-ORACLE, a synthetic biology platform developed by Diercks’ lab. It continuously introduces mutations into selected genes in bacteria to rapidly evolve proteins, including enzymes, at large scale with minimal researcher intervention. The Diercks lab is using T7-ORACLE to evolve enzymes for the selective degradation of the painful crystals behind gout flares, and to target voltage-gated ion channels involved in chronic pain as a non-addictive alternative to opioid-based therapeutics. ABOUT SCRIPPS RESEARCH Scripps Research is an independent, nonprofit biomedical institute based in La Jolla, California, and ranked one of the most influential in the world for its impact on innovation. The Front Row lecture series, now in its ninth season, offers an exclusive glimpse into groundbreaking scientific discoveries in action. Join us—in the front row. Reserve your seat! Settle into our auditorium for an inspirational, in-person experience, or attend virtually with thousands of people from around the world. Scripps Research on Instagram/Facebook
