2026 IEP Workshop Poster Exhibits

Below are some of the posters and abstracts from the 2026 IEP Annual Workshop that authors have made available for viewing. If an author did not share their poster for exhibit, you can contact them directly using their contact information in the Abstract Booklet (PDF).

Best Poster Presentation Winners

  • Pachia Lee (DWR) [Available - see category New Technologies]
  • Lalayna Hablutzel (CDFW) [Available - see category Delta or Longfin Smelt]
  • Andres Mendoza (USFWS) [Not Available - contact author directly]

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Pachia Lee -- Cold, Quick, and CRISPR-Clear: Freezing SHERLOCK for Faster Genetic Detection

published on APRIL 24, 2026
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APRIL 24, 2026

SHERLOCK (Specific High-sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter unLOCKing) is a CRISPR-based genetic method used to detect specific DNA or RNA sequences with high sensitivity. In conservation, SHERLOCK is used to quickly and accurately detect invasive and endangered species. DWR’s Genetic Monitoring (GeM) Lab uses SHERLOCK for diverse projects, including Chinook Salmon Spring-Run Juvenile Production Estimate and to estimate take of listed Chinook Salmon runs at water export facilities. This work is sometimes extremely time-sensitive and informs real-time water operations. Therefore, we need to produce results quickly to provide information to water operators. Typically, SHERLOCK reactions are prepared fresh each day. To minimize SHERLOCK processing time, and increase work efficiency, it would be ideal to deploy pre-frozen SHERLOCK reactions for sample testing. Through experimentation, we tested how long, after reactions are prepared, can they be frozen before results become unreliable. We found that reactions can be prepared and frozen 90 days in advance with minimal decrease in sensitivity, which saves considerable time compared to fresh preparation. We can also pre-freeze positive and negative controls into reactions, further increasing efficiency. Therefore, for time-sensitive samples we can simply thaw the frozen reactions and add only the samples, streamlining the entire process. Study findings help improve the efficiency and flexibility of SHERLOCK workflows, making both high-throughput and field-based sample processing faster and more practical, without compromising accuracy.

Authors:
• Pachia Lee*†, California Department of Water Resources, pachia.lee@water.ca.gov
• Scott Meyer, California Department of Water Resources
• Sean Canfield, California Department of Water Resources
• Sarah Brown, California Department of Water Resources
• Melinda Baerwald, California Department of Water Resources

*Presenting author, †Early Career Award candidate

Categories:New Technologies

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