News
Dr. Jain’s work featured in the Gainesville Sun
A CRISPR-based method to remove viruses from donor organs before transplant using a normothermic pump, to cleanse organs. This technology aims to reduce post-transplant viral infections and improve patient outcomes.
Title: UF researchers ‘rewriting organ biology’ with revolutionary transplant technology
Source/Author: The Gainesville Sun
Date: Aug 22, 2025
Dr. Jain named Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors
Jain and his team create diagnostics and a comprehensive suite of precise genome-editing tools using CRISPR, a gene editing tool that allows scientists to modify DNA in living organisms.
Title: University of Florida announces the 2025 National Academy of Inventors Senior Members
Source/Author: Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Date: Feb 20, 2025
Jain lab member presents at 2024 AIChE annual meeting
August Bodin, a Jain Lab member, presented on Repurposing CRISPR-Cas12 for RNA Detection at the 2024 AIChE annual meeting at San Diego.
Title: Repurposing CRISPR-Cas12 for RNA Detection
Source/Author: AIChE
Date: Oct 28, 2024
Jain lab’s work featured in the UF journal for undergraduate research
Researchers successfully created a HEK293T cell line with the mutation of interest using homology-directed repair, and are now testing and optimizing prime editors to address the mutation in both cell lines and patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated into photoreceptor precursor cells.
Title: CRISPR-Mediated Gene Editing Tool Development for Patients with Usher Syndrome Type II
Source/Author: UF Journal for Undergraduate Research / Jain Lab
Date: Oct 16, 2024
Dr. Jain awarded $2.8 million to develop at-home HIV test kit
A new, easy-to-use HIV-detection test kit being developed at the University of Florida using advanced CRISPR technology shows promise as an early-warning alarm system that could save millions of lives.
Title: NIH awards $2.8 million to UF researchers to develop at-home HIV test kit
Source/Author: Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Date: Jun 24, 2024
Dr. Jain’s work featured in the UF Health News
University of Florida researchers have found a new use for “genetic scissors” to detect RNA, a discovery that could lead to faster, more accurate and less expensive diagnostic tests for a host of diseases. The genetic scissors are a protein complex known as CRISPR-Cas12a.
Title: UF researchers’ genetic detection discovery has implications for medical diagnostic testing
Source/Author: UF Health
Date: September 21, 2023
Two Jain Lab members received the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Award
Grace Shoemaker and Dylan Carmen received the National Science Foundation GRFP
Title: Five Chemical Engineering Seniors Awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Source/Author: NSF/ Chemical Engineering
Date: May 1, 2023
Dr. Jain wins the 2022-2023 Excellence Award for Assistant Professors at the college level
Only one Assistant Professor was selected by the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Title: 2022-2023 Awards for the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Source/Author: Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Date: April 28, 2023
A JAIN Lab graduate student wins the 2022-2023 Attributes of a Gator Engineer Award for Creativity
Santosh Rananaware, PhD candidate, won the award at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Title: 2022-2023 Awards for the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Source/Author: Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Date: April 28, 2023
Two Jain Lab members won the 2022 AIChE undergraduate poster competition
Katelyn Meister (1st) and Grace Shoemaker (3rd) won the AIChE poster competition
Title: Success at the 2022 AIChE Annual Meeting
Source/Author: AIChE/ UF Chemical Engineering
Date: Nov 18, 2022
Dr. Jain coauthored a study published in Nature Communications
A nanopore-based detection method for detecting HIV co-developed with University of South Carolina researchers
Title: A Click Chemistry Amplified Nanopore (CAN) Assay for Ultrasensitive Quantification of HIV p24 Antigen in Clinical Samples
Source/Author: Nature Communications
Date: Nov 11, 2023
Dr. Jain hosted the 2022 Shah Lecture and Shah Symposium
Shah Lecturer: Prof. Matthew Tirrell (Dean, U of Chicago); Shah Symposium: 8 invited speakers
Title: Dinesh O. Shah Annual Lecture in Surface Science
Source/Author: Department of Chemical Engineering
Date: Oct 22, 2022
17 Jain Lab members collaborated to develop SPLENDID
SPLENDID features the development of a highly thermostable Cas12b protein
Title: Engineering Highly Thermostable Cas12b via De Novo Structural Analyses for One-Pot Detection of Nucleic Acids
Source/Author: medRxiv
Date: Oct 4, 2022
Jain received the NIH, NIGMS 2022 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (R35)
Jain Lab receives $1.83M MIRA award for discovering CRISPR/Cas (R35GM147788)
Title: Discovery and Engineering of CRISPR/Cas Systems
Source/Author: NIH/NIGMS (PI: Jain)
Date: Sep 1, 2022
Jain Lab received a collaborative R01 funding
Jain Lab sub awarded an R01 grant on detecting malaria in Africa (1R01AI165537)
Title: Relapsing malaria in Africa: mechanisms for persistence amid falciparum decline
Source/Author: NIH/NIAID (PI: Juliano, et al.; Co-I: Jain, et al.)
Date: July 25, 2022
Dr. Jain discussed CRISPR diagnostics in a DDN webinar
Strategies for Detecting New Viral Threats
Title: Engineered CRISPR/Cas systems as next-generation diagnostics
Source/Author: DDN/Piyush K. Jain
Date: June 22, 2022
Jain Lab received NIH, NIAID R21
Jain Lab received $0.42M R21 award for discriminating HCV genotypes (1R21AI168795)
Title: Rapid point-of-care detection of Hepatitis C viral RNA using multiplexed CRISPR/Cas platforms
Source/Author: NIH/NIAID (PI: Jain; Co-I: Wang)
Date: May 1, 2022
Dr. Jain discussed CRISPR diagnostics as a TEDx speaker
How CRISPR can revolutionize diagnostics
Title: How CRISPR can revolutionize diagnostics
Source/Author: TEDxUF/Piyush K. Jain
Date: Mar 20, 2022
News coverage on COVID variant test with CRISPR-SPADE
COVID-19 variant test appeared on Futurity
Title: Test Detects COVID (and Which Variant) in About 15 Minutes
Source/Author: Futurity/University of Florida News/Catherine Arnold
Date: Mar 21, 2022
COVID-19 variant test featured on the UF Homepage
New COVID test can quickly detect variants
Title: New COVID test can quickly detect variants
Source/Author: University of Florida News/Catherine Arnold
Date: Mar 18, 2022
COVID-19 variant test highlighted on UF News
Title: New COVID test can quickly detect variants
Source/Author: University of Florida News/Catherine Arnold
Date: Mar 17, 2022
COVID-19 variant test published in The Lancet’s EBioMedicine
Identified a new thermophilic BrCas12b & combined with RT-LAMP to create a one-pot COVID variant test
Title: A Thermostable Cas12b from Brevibacillus Leverages One-Pot Discrimination of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern
Source/Author: EBioMedicine- The Lancet/Long Nguyen, Nicolas Macaluso, Brianna Pizzano, Melanie Cash, Jan Spacek, Jan Karasek, Megan Miller, John Lednicky, Rhoel Dinglasan, Marco Salemi, Piyush Jain
Date: Mar 12, 2022
COVID-19 variant test published in Preprints with The Lancet
The updated CRISPR-SPADE test discriminates all 5 SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern
Title: A Thermostable Cas12b from Brevibacillus Leverages One-Pot Discrimination of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern
Source/Author: Preprints with THE LANCET/Long Nguyen, Nicolas Macaluso, Brianna Pizzano, Melanie Cash, Jan Spacek, Jan Karasek, Rhoel Dinglasan, Marco Salemi, Piyush Jain
Date: Jan 20, 2022
Behind the paper blog on Nature Portfolio
Next-Generation CRISPR Diagnostics with ENHANCEv2
Title: Next-Generation CRISPR Diagnostics with ENHANCEv2
Source/Author: Nature Portfolio Health/Santosh Rananaware, Brianna Pizzano, Piyush K. Jain
Date: Jan 20, 2022
ENHANCEv1 & ENHANCEv2 validation published in Communications Medicine- Nature
Clinical validation of engineered CRISPR/Cas12a for rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection
Title: Clinical validation of engineered CRISPR/Cas12a for rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection
Source/Author: Communications Medicine (Nature Portfolio)/Long Nguyen, Santosh Rananaware, Brianna Pizzano, Brandon Stone, Piyush K. Jain
Date: Jan 12, 2022
Jain received the collaborative UFHCC GU-Cancer Pilot Award (PI: Jain)
Jain Lab receives $100K UFHCC Pilot award for detecting bladder cancer at an early stage
Title: Urine-based early diagnosis of bladder cancer
Source/Author: UFHCC Pilot Award
Team 2: Piyush Jain (PI), Brian Ramnaraign (Co-PI)
Date: Nov 1, 2021
CRISPR-SPADE preprint published in the medRxiv
Single-Pot Assay for Detecting Emerging VOCs (CRISPR-SPADE)
Title: A Thermostable Cas12b from Brevibacillus Leverages One-pot Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern
Source/Author: medRxiv preprint server
Date: Oct 18, 2021
Our team received $10M in funding from the CDC (PI: Dinglasan)
UF-led study explores differences in COVID-19 severity internationally
Title: UF-led study explores differences in COVID-19 severity internationally
Source/Author: UF Health/ DeLene Beeland
Date: Sep 3, 2021
NIH awarded an R21 grant to the Jain lab (PI: Jain)
Rapid Detection of Hepatitis C virus using CRISPR/Cas
Title: Rapid Detection of Hepatitis C virus using CRISPR/Cas
Source/Author: NIH NIAID
Date: Sep 1, 2021
cCRISPR preprint published in the medRxiv
Combinatorial CRISPR/Cas12a orthologs (cCRISPR)
Title: A Combinatorial Approach Towards Adaptability of 22 Functional Cas12a Orthologs for Nucleic Acid Detection in Clinical Samples
Source/Author: medRxiv preprint server
Date: Dec 24, 2020
Jain named holder of the Shah Rising Star Professorship
Recognition of early career achievement and research excellence
Title: Jain named holder of the Shah Rising Star Professorship
Source/Author: UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering/ Department of Chemical Engineering
Date: Mar 19, 2021
CRISPR-ENHANCE highlighted in the COVID TechConnect Innovation Spotlight
An enhanced nucleic acid detection platform using Cas12a
Title: A CRISPR-based rapid and sensitive test for COVID-19
Source/Author: COVID TechConnect Innovation Spotlight Summit/ Piyush K. Jain
Date: Feb 17, 2021
CRISPR-ENHANCE published in Methods journal
An enhanced nucleic acid detection platform using Cas12a
Title: ENHANCE: An enhanced nucleic acid detection platform using Cas12a
Source/Author: Methods/Long T.Nguyen, JeevanGurijala, Santosh R.Rananaware, Brianna L.M.Pizzano, Brandon T.Stone, Piyush K.Jain
Date: Feb 9, 2021
ENHANCE AND ENHANCEv2 preprint published in the medRxiv
Engineered CRISPR/Cas12a Enables Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Detection
Title: Engineered CRISPR/Cas12a Enables Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Detection
Source/Author: medRxiv preprint server
Date: Dec 24, 2020
Team selected as XPRIZE semifinalist
CRISPR-ENHANCE team selected as a semifinalist for XPRIZE COVID-19 Competition
Title: Faster, cheaper, easier COVID-19 testing
Source/Author: UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Date: Nov 18, 2020
Expert opinion on Nobel Prize for CRISPR
Nobel Prize for chemistry honors exquisitely precise gene-editing technique, CRISPR
Title: Nobel Prize for chemistry honors exquisitely precise gene-editing technique, CRISPR – a gene engineer explains how it works
Source/Author: Piyush K. Jain/The Conversation
Date: October 7, 2020
CRISPR-ENHANCE published in Nature Communications
Enhancement of trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a with engineered crRNA enables amplified nucleic acid detection
Title: Enhancement of trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a with engineered crRNA enables amplified nucleic acid detection
Source/Author: Nature Communications/Long T. Nguyen, Brianna M. Smith & Piyush K. Jain [*Corresponding Author]
Date: Sep 30, 2020
Awarded a COVID-19 Ignition Grant from USISTEF (PI: Jain)
11 teams selected from over 400 proposals
Title: 11 teams of India-US scientists to jointly scout for ‘out of box’ Covid-19 solutions
Source/Author: Hindustan Times
Date: Sep 2, 2020
Awarded a Florida Breast Cancer Foundation Grant (PI: Jain)
Jain awarded grant to develop a CRISPR-based urine test for early detection of breast cancer
Title: Jain awarded grant to develop a CRISPR-based urine test for early detection of breast cancer
Source/Author: Michelle Runyon/Department of Chemical Engineering, UF
Date: July 1, 2020
News coverage on SARS-CoV-2 detection
Researchers hope CRISPR gene-editing technology can yield rapid at-home COVID-19 test
Title: Researchers hope CRISPR gene-editing technology can yield rapid at-home COVID-19 test
Source/Author: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio/Day 6
Date: May 29, 2020
UF researchers develop at-home COVID-19 test
Title: UF researchers develop at-home COVID-19 test
Source/Author: The Alligator/Ariana Aspuru
Date: May 17, 2020
Rapid home-based coronavirus tests are coming together in research labs
Working on analyzing spit using advanced CRISPR gene editing techniques
Title: Rapid home-based coronavirus tests are coming together in research labs — we’re working on analyzing spit using advanced CRISPR gene editing techniques
Source/Author: The Conversation/Piyush K. Jain
Date: May 20, 2020
Developing a next-generation coronavirus test for home use
Title: Developing a next-generation coronavirus test for home use
Source/Author: University of Florida News/Alisson Clark
Date: April 22, 2020
Assistant professor develops a rapid point-of-care detection technology for SARS-CoV-2
Title: Assistant professor develops a rapid point-of-care detection technology for SARS-CoV-2
Source/Author: Department of Chemical Engineering News, University of Florida/Michelle Runyon
Date: April 14, 2020
CRISPR-ENHANCE preprint published in the bioRxiv
Enhancement of trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a with engineered crRNA enables amplified nucleic acid detection
Title: Enhancement of trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a with engineered crRNA enables amplified nucleic acid detection
Source/Author: bioRxiv/Long T. Nguyen, Brianna M. Smith & Piyush K. Jain [*Corresponding Author]
Date: April 14, 2020
Book chapter published
First book chapter published from Jain lab
Title: Chapter 16 – Mesoporous silica nanoparticles: synthesis, properties, and biomedical applications
Source/Author: Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications/Marco Downing, Piyush K. Jain [*Corresponding Author]
Date: November 29, 2019
Expert opinion on CRISPR-edited T-Cells for cancer
How gene-edited white blood cells are helping fight cancer
Title: How gene-edited white blood cells are helping fight cancer?
Source/Author: The Conversation/Piyush K. Jain
Date: Nov 18, 2019
CRISPR-GPS published in Nanoscale
First publication from Jain lab members. First co-corresponding Author paper by Prof. Jain with Prof. Bhatia.
Title: Non-viral delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 complex using CRISPR-GPS nanocomplexes
Source/Author: Nanoscale/Piyush K. Jain [*Co-corresponding Author with Sangeeta N. Bhatia], Justin H. Lo, Santosh Rananaware, Marco Downing, Apekshya Panda, Michelle Tai, Srivatsan Raghavan, Heather E. Fleming
Date: October 29, 2019
Front Cover: The ULTIMATE Reagent
A Universal Photocleavable and Clickable Reagent for the Regiospecific and Reversible End Labeling of Any Nucleic Acid
Title: The ULTIMATE Reagent: A Universal Photocleavable and Clickable Reagent for the Regiospecific and Reversible End Labeling of Any Nucleic Acid
Source/Author: ChemBioChem
Date: Dec 2018
ULTIMATE Reagent for End-Labeling Any Nucleic Acid
Title: ULTIMATE Reagent for End-Labeling Any Nucleic Acid
Source/Author: Ruben Ragg/Chemistry Views
Date: May 20, 2018
F1000Prime Recommendation
Recognition of research excellence in CRISPR gene editing
Title: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Jain PK and Friedman SH, Chembiochem 2018 19(12):1264-1270]
Source/Author: Scott Silverman/F1000Prime
Date: Mar 21, 2018
Will MIT Alumni Be Selected as TIME’s Persons of the Year?
Coverage of CRISPR-PLUS research breakthrough
Title: Will MIT Alumni Be Selected as TIME’s Persons of the Year?
Source/Author: Jay London/MIT Alumni Association
Date: Dec 2, 2016
Remote Control of Gene Editing with Light
CRISPR-PLUS technology for light-activated gene editing
Title: Remote Control of Gene Editing with Light
Source/Author: Angewandte Chemie International Edition/Chemistry Views
Date: October 11, 2016
CRISPR technology to upgrade into the precise control of the times
MIT breakthrough in light-controlled gene editing
Title: MIT: CRISPR technology to upgrade into the precise control of the times
Source/Author: WuXi PharmaTech/Sino News
Date: September 13, 2016
UV light for gene editing
Novel approach to controlling CRISPR genome editing
Title: UV light for gene editing
Source/Author: Rebekah Barnett/TED Blog
Date: September 6, 2016
MIT Researchers Use Light as a Remote Control Switch for CRISPR Gene Editing
Title: MIT Researchers Use Light as a Remote Control Switch for CRISPR Gene Editing
Source/Author: Bryant Furlow/Cancer Network
Date: September 5, 2016
From Ancient Viral Mugshots to Potential Cancer Therapy: The CRISPR Cas System
Title: From Ancient Viral Mugshots to Potential Cancer Therapy: The CRISPR Cas System
Source/Author: Sarah Kearns/Medium
Date: September 3, 2016
Scientists Discover That We Can Control Gene Editing With Light
Title: Scientists Discover That We Can Control Gene Editing With Light
Source/Author: Jasmine Solana/Futurism
Date: August 29, 2016
Using Light to control CRISPR Genome Editing
Title: Using Light to control CRISPR Genome Editing
Source/Author: Rajamanickam Antonimuthu/YouTube
Date: August 27, 2016
CRISPR Genome Editing Can Be Controlled Using Light
Title: CRISPR Genome Editing Can Be Controlled Using Light
Source/Author: Himanshu Goenka/International Business Times
Date: August 25, 2016
Bhatia Lab Helps CRISPR See the Light
Title: Bhatia Lab Helps CRISPR See the Light
Source/Author: Erika Reinfeld/Koch Institute
Date: August 25, 2016
Using light to control genome editing
MIT News on CRISPR-PLUS highlighted on over 2000+ news websites
Title: Using light to control genome editing
Source/Author: Anne Trafton/MIT
Date: August 25, 2016
Polymerizing Insulin with Photocleavable Linkers to Make Light‐Sensitive Macropolymer Depot Materials
Back Cover: Photoactivated Insulin Polymer
Title: Polymerizing Insulin with Photocleavable Linkers to Make Light‐Sensitive Macropolymer Depot Materials
Source/Author: Macromolecular Bioscience
Date: Aug 5, 2016
Light Controlled Insulin Release
Novel approach to drug delivery using photocleavable linkers
Title: Light Controlled Insulin Release
Source/Author: Melania Tesio/ChemistryViews
Date: February 11, 2013
UMKC Researchers Find New Way of Administering Insulin
Title: UMKC Researchers Find New Way of Administering Insulin
Source/Author: The Associated Press
Date: January 2, 2013
Breakthrough May Ease Insulin Administration for Type 1 Diabetics
Title: Breakthrough May Ease Insulin Administration for Type 1 Diabetics
Source/Author: The Associated Press
Date: December 18, 2012
Fewer needles, no tubes
Light-controlled insulin release technology
Title: Fewer needles, no tubes
Source/Author: Stacy Downs/UMKC
Date: July 13, 2015
UMKC receives $1.4M federal grant for diabetes research
Title: UMKC receives $1.4M federal grant for diabetes research
Source/Author: The Associated Press/The Washington Times
Date: August 13, 2015
Could Light Be The Key To Fewer Needles For Diabetics? A Kansas City Researcher Thinks So
Title: Could Light Be The Key To Fewer Needles For Diabetics? A Kansas City Researcher Thinks So
Source/Author: Alex Smith/KCUR 89.3
Date: April 15, 2016
Local scientist invents tool that could change the way diabetics administer insulin
Title: Local scientist invents tool that could change the way diabetics administer insulin
Source/Author: Terra Hall/KSHB 41
Date: April 21, 2016