Research
Research summary
I am a member of Myriam Hemberger's lab at the Babraham Institute. Collectively, our research is aimed at elucidating developmental cues that determine differentiation of the trophoblast cell lineage and its maintenance thereafter.
The aim of my work is to understand the functional significance of differential DNA methylation patterns that emerge as the earliest lineage segregation events take place in the preimplantation embryo.
To do this, I have utilised stem cell lines derived from pre- and peri-implantation embryos (ES, TS, XEN, EpiS cells) and generated, via high throughput sequencing, genome wide methylation profiles. I aim to use these early embryonic "methylomes" to understand how DNA methylation as an epigenetic modification contributes to lineage commitment with particular emphasis on the trophoblast lineage.
Funding: BBSRC
Publications
1) Senner CE, Brockdorff N. (2009) Xist gene regulation at the onset of X inactivation. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 19:122-6.
2) Nesterova TB, Popova BC, Cobb BS, Norton S, Senner CE, Tang YA, Spruce T, Rodriguez TA, Sado T, Merkenschlager M, Brockdorff N. (2008) Dicer regulates Xist promoter methylation in ES cells indirectly through transcriptional control of Dnmt3a. Epigenetics Chromatin. 1:2.
3) Ybot-Gonzalez P, Savery D, Gerrelli D, Signore M, Mitchell CE, Faux CH, Greene ND, Copp AJ. (2007) Convergent extension, planar-cell-polarity signalling and initiation of mouse neural tube closure. Development. 134:789-99.