Dr Chris Torrance – Interview with Dr Lara Marks

Earlier in the year, Dr Lara Marks, conducted interviews with Dr Chris Torrance about his background and career. Below is a snippet from the article written by Dr Lara Marks.

In October 2022 Chris agreed to become the Non-Executive Chair of Enhanc3D Genomics. Founded in January 2020, Enhanc3D Genomics set out to develop a disruptive genomics technology pioneered by Stefan Schoenfelder and Peter Fraser at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge.

What Chris finds attractive about the technology is its potential to unlock unknown information about the genome to provide new pointers to understand and treat disease. Instead of treating the genome as a linear DNA sequence, which is the traditional approach taken in genomics, the technology can probe the functional 3D structure of the genome. Knowing how the genome is folded tightly and organised within the cell’s nucleus can offer new insights into how seemingly unrelated parts of the genome connect to each other and affect the disease process

The human genome is made up of just over 3 billion DNA base pairs. The base pair consist of two complementary DNA nucleotides that link together to form a rung on a ladder-like structure, known as the DNA helix. Nearly every cell in the body contains the same genome, but each interprets this genetic information in different ways. For decades scientists assumed that close to 98 per cent of the genome does not code for proteins and dismissed it as ‘junk DNA’. But over time it has become clear that what appears to be non-coding DNA can have a biological function and is used by cells to help regulate or assist with protein production (Buehler). One of Enhanc3D’s core missions is to mine the non-coding regions of the genome which remain largely uncharted territory. This could hold important clues for disease susceptibility and progression (Scialom).

 

For the full article, please visit Chris Torrance | Biographical summary (whatisbiotechnology.org)