The PASAGE Team Goes to ASHG!

In early November, many members of the PaSAGE Team had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC for the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG).

Following a great day of sessions, the PaSAGE Team shared tapas for dinner at a Spanish restaurant.

Row on Left (L to R): Dr. Kiran Musunuru, Dominque Brooks, McKenna Horstmann, Dr. Rosario Issasi, and her partner, Calvin.

Row on Right (L to R): Kirsten Riggan, Dr. Megan Allyse,
Dr. Yvonne Bombard, Jane Yap, and her partner, Cole Jensen.

On the third day of the conference, Kirsten Riggan gave an excellent presentation (pictured below) on patient views and understanding of non-invasive prenatal screening. New team member and current PhD student of Dr. Kiran Musunuru, Dominque Brooks, gave a great presentation during Thursday’s plenary session titled: “Correction of Human Phenylketonuria Variants via Prime Editing and Base Editing: A Gateway to Equitable Treatment of Inborn Errors of Metabolism". We are so proud of their work and for representing the team at ASHG!

Dr. Issasi also presented a poster on the importance of values-based policymaking in prenatal human gene editing. It was great to see a familiar face in such a crowded room.

From Left to Right: Dr. Rosario Issasi, Kirsten Riggan, and Dr. Megan Allyse. Such a great representation of influential women in science! #girlpower

In between sessions and after long days of talks, we tried to soak up as much of the culture that D.C. has to offer—including visits to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Ford’s Theatre, and of course a walk around the National Mall.