The 2023 Richard Perham Prize was awarded to co-first authors Celeste Riepe and Elena Zelin and co-corresponding authors Nicholas Ingolia and Jacob Corn for their outstanding paper published in The FEBS Journal in 2022. The monetary award of 5000€ will be shared equally between first authors Celeste Riepe and Elena Zelin.

Their original article, titled Double stranded DNA breaks and genome editing trigger loss of ribosomal protein RPS27A, focuses on the side effects of Cas9-based genome editing. 

DNA damage activates a robust transcriptional stress response; however, its impact on translation remains understudied. The emergence of Cas9-based genome editing has intensified interest in elucidating cellular responses to DNA damage. In their award-winning study, the authors describe how DNA double-stranded breaks, including those induced by Cas9, trigger the loss of ribosomal protein RPS27A from ribosomes. Comparison of ribosome and mRNA profiles of cells treated with Cas9 and dCas9 (which does not cut DNA) revealed a translational response to double-stranded breaks in the DNA that precedes transcriptional changes. The authors showed that Cas9-associated double-stranded breaks can alter translation and remodel ribosomes, suggesting caution when interpreting cellular phenotypes measured immediately after genome editing.

Congratulations to Celeste Riepe, Elena Zelin, Phillip A. Frankino, Zuriah A. Meacham, Samantha G. Fernandez, Nicholas T. Ingolia and Jacob E. Corn for their outstanding work, and especially to first authors Elena and Celeste. 

They join a remarkable group of Richard Perham Prize winners, whose papers you can read and share here. We look forward to the exciting science coming up in The FEBS Journal in 2024!