Cellectis bioresearch Announces the First TGCA Winner

PARIS, Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellectis bioresearch, a specialist in genome customization and a subsidiary of Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), has today announced the recipient of its post-doctoral fellowship award program. The Genome Customization Award (TGCA) is going to Dr Nelson Lau's research group, from the Department of Biology at the Brandeis University (Waltham, Massachusetts). The award was granted after thorough review of several very high profile applications for its outstanding research program on improving transgenesis of Xenopus tropicalis for RNA interference methodologies.

As the winning academic team, Dr Lau's research group will receive euro 15,000 (US$ 18,000) to partially fund for one year one post-doctoral fellow recruited to work on the project, with a possible renewal for a second year.

The award review committee selected Dr Nelson Lau's project based, in part, on its high probability of being successful. The project, which is focused on improving technologies in the model species Xenopus tropicalis, aims at

- Elucidating the rules of molecular specificity in shRNA design

- Applying custom meganucleases for improved transgenesis of the shRNA vector

- Expanding largely the technology

As a member of the same research institution, Prof. James Haber did not take part in the vote.

"We are delighted to be part of the endeavor to bring custom meganucleases to a new model organism where the technology has not been tested yet but has strong promise", stated Dr Nelson Lau.

"The investigator is a pre-eminent siRNA researcher who plans to use Cellectis' custom meganucleases in a very smart way," declared Prof. Rodney J. Rothstein of Columbia University, Chairman of the Committee.

The award will be officially presented to Dr Nelson Lau in March 2011 at the Grand Opening of Cellectis bioresearch Inc. facilities in Cambridge (Massachusetts) by Marc Le Bozec, CEO of Cellectis bioresearch.

The TGCA was established by Cellectis bioresearch in 2010 with the goal of spreading the use of meganucleases for genome customization throughout the Life Sciences community.

About Cellectis bioresearch

Cellectis bioresearch was incorporated as a subsidiary of Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS) in June 2008. It provides life science researchers with ready- and easy-to-use tools for genome customization.  These tools, based on meganucleases, enable the engineering of cells with optimized features for drug discovery, protein production and gene functional study. The kits can be purchased online from www.cellectis-bioresearch.com. More information on the website.

About Cellectis

Cellectis is a pioneer in the field of genome engineering. The company designs and markets innovative tools - meganucleases. These molecular scissors enable targeted modifications to DNA, with applications in the research, biomanufacturing, agrobiotechnology and therapeutic sectors.

To date, Cellectis has formed over 20 academic research partnerships and has established more than 50 agreements with pharmaceutical laboratories, seed producers and biotech companies across the world. The company holds exclusive rights to a portfolio of over 260 patents granted or pending.

Since 2007, Cellectis has been listed on the NYSE-Euronext Alternext market (code: ALCLS) in Paris and has secured over euro 70 million in funding since inception.

More information at www.cellectis.com

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Disclaimer

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SOURCE Cellectis bioresearch