Pre-defense of the doctoral dissertation by Aisha Maratovna Shaizadinova on CRISPR/Cas technologies for disease diagnostics

On May 19, the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics held the pre-defense of the doctoral dissertation of Shaizadinova Aisha Maratovna, a PhD student of the “8D05105 – Biotechnology” program. The dissertation is titled: “Study of CRISPR/Cas novel programmable RNA-directed endonuclease for diagnostic applications.”

The research focuses on the characterization of new CRISPR/Cas endonucleases MbCas12a and MeCas12a, derived from Moraxella bovis and Moraxella equi, and the development of innovative molecular diagnostic platforms based on them. This work bridges fundamental insights into CRISPR/Cas mechanisms with applied challenges in modern biomedicine.

The relevance of the study lies in the increasing demand for precise, rapid, and accessible diagnostic methods for infectious diseases, especially in the face of global health challenges. CRISPR/Cas systems, known for their high specificity and sensitivity, can detect even minute quantities of pathogenic DNA and RNA. The diagnostic platforms developed from these systems do not require expensive equipment, making them suitable for both clinical and field use.

The results of the dissertation directly contribute to the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 – “Good Health and Well-being”, by supporting early detection and control of infectious diseases. Specifically, diagnostic methods for E. coli, S. aureus, and Alternaria spp. were developed with high sensitivity (down to 10¹–10⁴ DNA copies) and compatibility with portable devices, including the CRISPR-Kaz tool.

The research was conducted at the Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory of the LLP "National Center for Biotechnology" within the framework of grant projects AP09259771, BR10764944, and AP19579275.

Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics