|
Hewes was among honorees at a special event held at Delaware Legislative Hall
(WILMINGTON, Del. – May 11, 2023)
Amanda Hewes, MS, education program manager at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute, has been named one of the 2023 Outstanding Delaware Women in STEM by Million Women Mentors, an international movement dedicated to encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
 Downloadable Assets
Hewes’ selection spotlights her dedication to engaging young people in the science of gene editing by introducing the Gene Editing Institute’s CRISPR in a BoxTM educational toolkit into classrooms across Delaware and her commitment to bridging disparities in STEM education.
“I’m overjoyed to be honored among so many amazing women in this state,” Hewes said. “It’s humbling to be considered and to stand alongside them. All of these women foster and lead dynamic communities of young women that inspire me every day. I hope that I can do the same by making young women in this state feel empowered through the work that I do.”
Hewes joined ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute in 2017 with a focus on expanding its CRISPR gene editing system in a cell-free environment. She was first author in a publication in Nature that established the highly innovative “gene editing on a chip” protocol that allowed CRISPR to edit DNA outside of the cell for the first time. This methodology enables researchers to take fragments of DNA extracted from human cells, place them in a test tube and precisely engineer multiple changes to the genetic code.
This gene editing system eventually led to the creation of the CRISPR in a Box™ toolkit. This innovative educational resource provides a way for students to learn about this exciting frontier of science through a hands-on exercise in which they use CRISPR gene editing to disrupt a synthetic gene within a plasmid. The simplicity of this experiment allowed for the reaction to be developed into a remarkable teaching tool that can be brought into most school laboratories containing basic laboratory equipment.
Once CRISPR in a Box™ was developed, Hewes recognized the potential it could have for high school and college students. She took on a new role as education program manager and expanded the Gene Editing 360™ platform, which is the Gene Editing Institute’s suite of educational tools for engaging students and the public.
“Amanda has set us on a tremendous path toward providing more educational opportunities for Delaware students,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., director of ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. “She’s inspired young women in multiple states and has created so much of this program with her own ingenuity and passion.”
Hewes was honored alongside 10 other women by Gov. John Carney, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and others at the Delaware State House with the signing of a proclamation to declare March 24, 2023, as “Delaware Women and Girls in STEM Day.”
 |
|
Need an expert source?
Our Experts, ChristianaCare's expert database, can help you find the right source for your next news story.
Request an interview ➜ |
|
About ChristianaCare
Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, and innovating to make high-quality care more accessible, equitable and affordable. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,430 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute.
ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as one of the nation’s best employers for diversity and inclusion. ChristianaCare is rated by Newsweek as one of the World’s Best Hospitals and is continually ranked among the best in the U.S. in national quality and safety ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.
About the ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute
The Gene Editing Institute at ChristianaCare is a worldwide leader in CRISPR gene editing technology. As the only institute of its kind based within a community health care system, the Gene Editing Institute has a unique opportunity to take a patient-first approach in all its research by working side by side with oncologists and other medical experts to improve the lives of people with cancer and inherited diseases. Since 2015, its researchers have led several ground-breaking firsts in the field that will help bring treatments to patients quickly and safely. They recently discovered that disabling a lung cancer gene called NRF2 using CRISPR gene editing allows chemotherapy work better to target cancer cells. Lung cancer resistance to chemotherapy has long been elusive. The Gene Editing Institute, working with its spin out company CorriXR Therapeutics, is close to approval from the FDA to start clinical trials in humans. In addition to scientific breakthroughs, The Gene Editing Institute is preparing the next generation of gene editing scientists through its on-site Learning Lab and immersive CRISPR In A Box™ teaching toolkit reaching more than 1,000 students across multiple states.
####
|
