EP 152: Unlocking the secrets of gene regulation with Nadav Ahituv, Director of the Institute of Human Genetics at UCSF

01:15 - Introductions
02:02 - How our understanding of the non-coding genome has evolved throughout Nadav’s career
04:56 - Our current understanding of non-coding genome grammar
07:40 - Is there a missing piece to the common variant, common disease paradigm?
10:25 - Introducing ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and human accelerated regions (HARs)
12:50 - Can a simple code explain changes in certain regions of the genome? Does this require “messier” solutions, such as large language models?
14:25 - The potential of machine learning
16:56 - Using CRISPR and non-coding elements to treat haploinsufficiency-caused pediatric diseases
20:19 - Nadav’s experience of starting a company
24:44 - How CRISPR A minimizes the risks associated with traditional CRISPR editing
26:04 - How engineering fat cells can starve cancer

32:08 - What’s on the horizon for Nadav’s lab?
34:52 - Bats as unlikely “superheroes,”, and what we can learn from their glucose levels
38:43 - The genetic differences between archaic humans, like Neanderthals and Denisovans, and modern humans
40:33 - Closing remarks