Jacob Corn
@jcornlab.bsky.social
Genome editing, functional genomics, and cells figuring out how to eat themselves without dying. Professor of Genome Biology at ETH Zürich.
Sometimes I'm excited to read a paper and every paragraph blows me away. And sometimes I'm just as excited and every paragraph leaves me wondering if the referees were sleeping on the job. Today it was one of the latter.
a bald man in a plaid shirt and vest
ALT: a bald man in a plaid shirt and vest
media.tenor.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Sometimes I'm excited to read a paper and every paragraph blows me away. And sometimes I'm just as excited and every paragraph leaves me wondering if the referees were sleeping on the job. Today it was one of the latter.
Reposted by Jacob Corn
ERC Plus Grants
• No career limit, current ERCs are not eligible
• Major challenge, transformative research
• Up to 7 million euros, up to 7 years
• 30 grants per year, 2 years, only once per lifetime
• Same application format, plus vision statement
• Deadline in September 2026, 2 stage evaluation
• No career limit, current ERCs are not eligible
• Major challenge, transformative research
• Up to 7 million euros, up to 7 years
• 30 grants per year, 2 years, only once per lifetime
• Same application format, plus vision statement
• Deadline in September 2026, 2 stage evaluation
Webinar on the new ERC Plus Grants live starting now www.youtube.com/live/Dzkas7f...
Webinar on the new ERC Plus Grants
YouTube video by European Research Council
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
ERC Plus Grants
• No career limit, current ERCs are not eligible
• Major challenge, transformative research
• Up to 7 million euros, up to 7 years
• 30 grants per year, 2 years, only once per lifetime
• Same application format, plus vision statement
• Deadline in September 2026, 2 stage evaluation
• No career limit, current ERCs are not eligible
• Major challenge, transformative research
• Up to 7 million euros, up to 7 years
• 30 grants per year, 2 years, only once per lifetime
• Same application format, plus vision statement
• Deadline in September 2026, 2 stage evaluation
What controls expansion & contraction of DNA repeats (e.g. Huntington's)? We were thrilled to collaborate w/ the lab of Marta Olejniczak to find out. Check out the cool screen from @sebasiegner.bsky.social and @matthiasmuhar.bsky.social that reads out repeat sequence. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 8:09 AM
What controls expansion & contraction of DNA repeats (e.g. Huntington's)? We were thrilled to collaborate w/ the lab of Marta Olejniczak to find out. Check out the cool screen from @sebasiegner.bsky.social and @matthiasmuhar.bsky.social that reads out repeat sequence. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
I’m very grateful to @ethz.ch @vseth.ethz.ch.web.brid.gy for a Golden Owl award. People who know me know that I respectfully decline science awards. But recognition directly by students hits different!
November 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I’m very grateful to @ethz.ch @vseth.ethz.ch.web.brid.gy for a Golden Owl award. People who know me know that I respectfully decline science awards. But recognition directly by students hits different!
Congratulations to @sebasiegner.bsky.social who defended his PhD on Friday! His name will be on 6-7 papers by the time he leaves the lab, including a co-first Nature paper. What a superstar! Keep an eye out for his postdoc application 😉
November 17, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Congratulations to @sebasiegner.bsky.social who defended his PhD on Friday! His name will be on 6-7 papers by the time he leaves the lab, including a co-first Nature paper. What a superstar! Keep an eye out for his postdoc application 😉
I recently received an AI-generated referee report. Almost all suggested experiments were already main figures & referee admitted using AI when asked by the editor. But they claimed they only used AI to write. No way. Editors, what do you do in this case? Referees, at least read the paper!
November 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I recently received an AI-generated referee report. Almost all suggested experiments were already main figures & referee admitted using AI when asked by the editor. But they claimed they only used AI to write. No way. Editors, what do you do in this case? Referees, at least read the paper!
Reposted by Jacob Corn
It has been disappointing to see the general lack of interest and investment into population genetics and genomic medicine in Switzerland. While we can resort to other national cohorts for research the country can only benefit if the know-how can be applied locally
www.sfa-phrt.ch/success-stor...
www.sfa-phrt.ch/success-stor...
Didier Trono Interview “Switzerlands Genetic Diversity is Unique” - PHRT – Personalized Health & Related Technologies
Success Story Didier Trono While other countries are pressing ahead with the Genome of Europe, Switzerland is still hesitating. A huge mistake, says Didier Trono from the Genome Center in Geneva “I do...
www.sfa-phrt.ch
November 11, 2025 at 8:42 AM
It has been disappointing to see the general lack of interest and investment into population genetics and genomic medicine in Switzerland. While we can resort to other national cohorts for research the country can only benefit if the know-how can be applied locally
www.sfa-phrt.ch/success-stor...
www.sfa-phrt.ch/success-stor...
Reposted by Jacob Corn
957 proposals were submitted in the latest round of ERC Synergy applications. They expect to fund 50 which means around 5% success rate. This is really not sustainable and a lot of people are likely avoiding doing this knowing how poor the chances are.
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
Applications for ERC Synergy Grants 2026: Facts and figures
The ERC Synergy Grants 2026 call closed for applications on 5 November 2025. These are the preliminary data on the submitted proposals:
erc.europa.eu
November 11, 2025 at 1:22 PM
957 proposals were submitted in the latest round of ERC Synergy applications. They expect to fund 50 which means around 5% success rate. This is really not sustainable and a lot of people are likely avoiding doing this knowing how poor the chances are.
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
Congrats to Moritz Schlapansky, who successfully defended his PhD thesis on Friday! You can read his work on "scOUT-seq" profiling of single cell transcriptomes + editing outcomes in millions of cells and living mice at www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Congrats to Moritz Schlapansky, who successfully defended his PhD thesis on Friday! You can read his work on "scOUT-seq" profiling of single cell transcriptomes + editing outcomes in millions of cells and living mice at www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In 2026 I'm taking a sabbatical in @peterfineran.bsky.social lab @universityofotago.bsky.social. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from Peter's lab and excited to get back to my prokaryotic/viral roots! Also planning to some trips to the rest of the Pacific and Asia. So much to look forward to!
November 5, 2025 at 3:36 PM
In 2026 I'm taking a sabbatical in @peterfineran.bsky.social lab @universityofotago.bsky.social. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from Peter's lab and excited to get back to my prokaryotic/viral roots! Also planning to some trips to the rest of the Pacific and Asia. So much to look forward to!
Sometimes #Cas9 is too dang big. But mini Cas proteins are bad at both NHEJ & HDR. PhD student Fedor Gorbenko used mammalian cell evolution for *HDR* to make REALLY super #Cas12f1 and #TnpB. As good as or better than Cas9! Base editors included! www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2025.10.27.684765v1
Directed evolution of compact RNA-guided nucleases for homology-directed repair in mammalian cells
RNA-guided nucleases enable DNA editing and offer promise for treating genetic diseases, particularly when used for precise sequence replacement. However, many of the most effective enzymes, such as S...
www.biorxiv.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Sometimes #Cas9 is too dang big. But mini Cas proteins are bad at both NHEJ & HDR. PhD student Fedor Gorbenko used mammalian cell evolution for *HDR* to make REALLY super #Cas12f1 and #TnpB. As good as or better than Cas9! Base editors included! www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2025.10.27.684765v1
Reposted by Jacob Corn
Thanks to CRISPR/Cas technology, researchers can precisely edit genetic material to treat hereditary diseases. To achieve this, they need to identify undesirable cuts in the genome at an early juncture. Pioneer Fellow Lilly van de Venn is developing such testing methods. ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
An ETH spin-off aims to bring gene scissors to the clinic
Thanks to CRISPR/Cas technology, researchers can precisely edit genetic material to treat hereditary diseases. To achieve this, they need to identify undesirable cuts in the genome at an early junctur...
ethz.ch
October 27, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Thanks to CRISPR/Cas technology, researchers can precisely edit genetic material to treat hereditary diseases. To achieve this, they need to identify undesirable cuts in the genome at an early juncture. Pioneer Fellow Lilly van de Venn is developing such testing methods. ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
Ever noticed that #CRISPR editing results differ between cells? Awesome PhD student Moritz Schlapansky developed "scOUT-seq" to measure single cell transcriptomes + editing. 1.2 million cells, 74 cell types, living 🐭. Cell subtypes differ wildly from bulk average! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cell-stereotyped DNA repair outcomes are widespread during genome editing
Genome editing outcomes are governed by DNA repair pathways that vary with cell type and state. We developed scOUT-seq (single-cell Outcomes Using Transcript sequencing), a scalable approach that join...
www.biorxiv.org
October 24, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Ever noticed that #CRISPR editing results differ between cells? Awesome PhD student Moritz Schlapansky developed "scOUT-seq" to measure single cell transcriptomes + editing. 1.2 million cells, 74 cell types, living 🐭. Cell subtypes differ wildly from bulk average! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Long time no see, everyone! Things have been a bit more busy than ususal, hence the radio silence. But stay tuned for some fun news in the next few days.
October 23, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Long time no see, everyone! Things have been a bit more busy than ususal, hence the radio silence. But stay tuned for some fun news in the next few days.
Reposted by Jacob Corn
Excited to share our latest preprint. Work led by PhD student @jordancjwilson.bsky.social with @profmarciniak.bsky.social, @villungerlab.bsky.social & our @erc.europa.eu partners @jcornlab.bsky.social & @loizoulab.bsky.social, that sheds light on the action of WEE1 inhibitors. bit.ly/4bDpxZl
| bioRxiv
bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.12.642825v1”
March 18, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Excited to share our latest preprint. Work led by PhD student @jordancjwilson.bsky.social with @profmarciniak.bsky.social, @villungerlab.bsky.social & our @erc.europa.eu partners @jcornlab.bsky.social & @loizoulab.bsky.social, that sheds light on the action of WEE1 inhibitors. bit.ly/4bDpxZl
Do you want to know about the invisible secrets of #HDR during #CRISPR genome editing? Check out our preprint at www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... New methods, crazy biology, and theft from the genome! From PhD student @charlesyeh.bsky.social
a man wearing an orange jacket with the number 22573 on it holds a candy bar
ALT: a man wearing an orange jacket with the number 22573 on it holds a candy bar
media.tenor.com
February 13, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Do you want to know about the invisible secrets of #HDR during #CRISPR genome editing? Check out our preprint at www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... New methods, crazy biology, and theft from the genome! From PhD student @charlesyeh.bsky.social
New #preprint from the lab! Do you want to see the invisible? So did we! When DNA genomes get broken, cells somehow find related sequences to fix the break. But how do they find it? We developed a way to look at sequence *search*, not just sequence usage.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org
February 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
New #preprint from the lab! Do you want to see the invisible? So did we! When DNA genomes get broken, cells somehow find related sequences to fix the break. But how do they find it? We developed a way to look at sequence *search*, not just sequence usage.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Cells are filled with toxic stuff that damages healthy proteins. Is that garbage just left to rot on the curb? No way! Ubiquitin ligases have evolved to recognize chemical damage and clean it up! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
C-terminal amides mark proteins for degradation via SCF–FBXO31 - Nature
SCF–FBXO31 scans proteins for C-terminal amidation and marks them for subsequent proteasomal degradation.
www.nature.com
January 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Cells are filled with toxic stuff that damages healthy proteins. Is that garbage just left to rot on the curb? No way! Ubiquitin ligases have evolved to recognize chemical damage and clean it up! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jacob Corn
Join Helle D. Ulrich & experts this April to explore DNA replication errors, breaks, repair, and cancer! Submit abstracts and scholarships by Jan. 28 (11:59pm MST)! keysym.us/KSDNARep25
#KSDNARep25 #DNAreplicationgaps @cantorlab.bsky.social @albertociccia.bsky.social @labvincenzo.bsky.social
#KSDNARep25 #DNAreplicationgaps @cantorlab.bsky.social @albertociccia.bsky.social @labvincenzo.bsky.social
January 14, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Join Helle D. Ulrich & experts this April to explore DNA replication errors, breaks, repair, and cancer! Submit abstracts and scholarships by Jan. 28 (11:59pm MST)! keysym.us/KSDNARep25
#KSDNARep25 #DNAreplicationgaps @cantorlab.bsky.social @albertociccia.bsky.social @labvincenzo.bsky.social
#KSDNARep25 #DNAreplicationgaps @cantorlab.bsky.social @albertociccia.bsky.social @labvincenzo.bsky.social