CRISPR Envirome Biosensors

Contributors | Devora Najjar, Joe Paradiso

Microbial monitoring plays a critical role in informing governments, researchers, and locals on the health of their ecosystem. Unfortunately, common methods of microbial detection and identification for human and environmental health require specialized equipment that provide results on the order of days. As an alternative to these bottlenecks, this project translates novel CRISPR biological sensing platforms meant for low-resource (out-of-lab) diagnostics to be used for waterborne-pathogen monitoring in low-resource contexts.

This project will serve as the proof of concept for an on-demand, low-cost, and quick environmental monitoring biotechnology to deliver results in hours. Experiments are being run to test the applicability both within local communities and in microgravity.

Innovative diagnostic tools, using this CRISPR technique, can revolutionize in-situ health and environmental assessments for astronauts on resource- constrained deep space missions. This project will be tested in various space environment conditions for robust understanding of performance in the intended operating environment, having first flown on a Zero-G parabolic flight in May 2021.

This project is funded in part by the SEI-TRISH Seed Grant Program and National Geographic.

Collaborators: Collins Lab, MIT ; Space Exploration Initiative, MIT; Open Ocean Initiative, MIT Media Lab.