A new suspense novel that combines real science with thrilling intrigue has been released by Avon Lake resident and first-time author Jennifer Handler. The novel, “KRISPR,” features a science fiction meets thriller plot where protagonist Aliya McKenna has a key to ending disease, but in the wrong hands, could destroy humanity, according to a news release. The story is based on a chilling reality, drawing from the author’s background in genetics, the release said.
It centers around a real-life Nobel Prize-winning technology in genetics, and one of humanity’s actual greatest innovations, CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editing. CRISPR/Cas9 is a gene-editing technology which involves two essential components: a guide RNA to match a desired target gene, and Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) — an endonuclease which causes a double-stranded DNA break, allowing modifications to the genome. Handler is the pseudonym of Avon Lake resident Barbara Kuemerle, an instructor at Case Western Reserve University.
Kuemerle not only teaches courses in physiology and neuroscience, she also earned her Ph.D. in genetics from Case Western.
And, while Kuemerle has been published in scientific journals, as well as written a customized text for a course she teaches, this is her first foray into writing fiction, according to the release. “This topic is just so interesting to me, and I wanted to create a story and have readers be drawn in and maybe learn a little bit more about the subject,” Kuemerle sa.