Dr Pardis Sabeti on the Sentinel system for detecting and stopping pandemics

Abstract

Dr. Pardis Sabeti, a professor at Harvard and co-founder of Sherlock Biosciences, argues for the development and deployment of a system to rapidly detect and contain emerging infectious diseases. The proposed system, called SENTINEL, relies on an escalating series of three diagnostic techniques: SHERLOCK, CARMEN, and metagenomic sequencing. SHERLOCK is a simple, inexpensive test that uses CRISPR gene editing to detect familiar viruses. If SHERLOCK fails to identify a pathogen, the sample is analyzed using CARMEN, a more expensive, multiplex test that can simultaneously detect hundreds of viruses. If neither test identifies the pathogen, metagenomic sequencing can be used to identify and track every virus, known and unknown, in a sample. SENTINEL also emphasizes the importance of connecting data in real time and empowering frontline workers. The system aims to detect, connect, and empower actors in a global community to preempt and respond to future pandemics. – AI-generated abstract