Conception
Sean Merrill has extensive experience in the field of scientific research and genetics. Sean is currently working as a Senior Scientist at Conception since June 2022. Prior to this, they held the role of Scientist II at GenEdit from January 2022 to June 2022.
Before joining GenEdit, Sean worked at Boost Neuroscience as a Scientist I from February 2021 to September 2021. Sean then pursued a Postdoctoral Scholar position at Stanford University from June 2018 to January 2021. During this time, they conducted in-depth studies on human biology, specifically focusing on genetically modifying stem cells and analyzing their differentiated cell lineages. Sean also conducted gene function studies by making knockouts and disease mutations, and utilized knockins of fluorescence tags to determine protein locations and expression profiles.
Prior to their time at Stanford University, Sean worked as a Graduate Student at the University of Utah College of Science from June 2010 to June 2018. Here, they used CRISPR technology to attach tags onto neuronal calcium channels for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Through their research, they identified subsynaptic calcium domains and studied the pathogenesis of neurological disorders such as autism, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's, which are known to disrupt calcium signaling at synapses.
Overall, Sean Merrill's work experience demonstrates their expertise in genetic modification, protein analysis, and the study of neurological disorders.
Sean Merrill has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Northern Arizona University. Sean attended this institution from 2007 to 2009. Following this, they pursued a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biology at the University of Utah from 2010 to 2018.
Conception
Conception is a company developing the technology to turn skin cells into viable human eggs.This technology will give women the opportunity to have children well into their forties and fifties, eliminate barriers for couples suffering from infertility, and potentially allow male-male couples to have biological children.Long term, thistechnology could be a critical platform allowing for widespread genetic screening of embryos. If proven safe, it could even enable for genetic editing to eliminate and reduce the risk of devastating diseases for future generations – such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease and many different types of cancers.This could become one of the most important technologies ever created.The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Berkeley, California.