The 15th Annual Head’s Forum, organized this year by the Science Department, presented an in-depth discussion on one of the most revolutionary scientific advancements of the past few years: the gene-editing technology of CRISPR. 

CRISPR, or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, has begun offering researchers and scientists the opportunity to edit genes, a powerful tool with the possibility of broad applications. Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University Dr. Samuel Sternberg and Co-founder and CTO of Mammoth Biosciences Dr. Janice Chen joined Ushrat A. ’23, Kavitha T. ’24, Anna-Sophia S. ’23 and Sophie W. ’24 in a panel moderated by science teacher Scott Godsen devoted to discussing the ethical implications of the recent discoveries, prioritizing the areas of student interest. 

Welcoming Grades 11 and 12 families and students to the program, Head of School Felicia Wilks called it, “an incredible topic for all of us,” but especially for Spence students to engage with. “Your practice of critical, nuanced thinking will serve you well today as you consider the potential good this technology can bring as well as the potential downsides we can’t entirely foresee.”