last call lectures: designer babies and superhumans: what gene editing means for the future

what if you could edit your future kid’s dna before they were born?

we’re breaking down how crispr went from a bacterial immune system to the first approved gene-editing cure, and why a scientist who secretly edited the genes of twin babies ended up in prison. we’ll look at real people born with rare gene variants that give them extra muscle, let them thrive on very little sleep, or make them resistant to hiv, and ask the big question: if we can edit genes to cure disease, how long until someone tries to build stronger, smarter, healthier humans? we’ll close with where the line between treatment and enhancement should be, and who gets to decide.

leading the talk is dr. manead khin. dr. khin holds a phd in pharmaceutical sciences with a focus on analytical chemistry and cancer biology. she is the founder and host of petri dish perspectives, a biotech and pharma podcast built on turning dense molecular science into stories a general audience actually wants to hear.

here is how the night runs: dr. khin opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion, closing with a quick debrief to bring it all back together. stick around after for mingling, this crowd always has more to say.