Wellcome awards Leicester scientist £2m to study gene regulation in early development
Dr Yolanda Markaki.
A University of Leicester scientist has been awarded £2m for research which could lead to advances in understanding and treating developmental disorders.
The Wellcome funding will allow Dr Yolanda Markaki to investigate how cells switch off genes during early development. The insights from the research could not only help to explain how developmental disorders occur, but also improve stem cell therapies used to treat them.
Some genes must be turned off at specific times to ensure healthy development. One key example is X-chromosome inactivation, a process in female mammals that prevents an imbalance in gene activity between sexes. Using advanced super-resolution microscopy, Dr Markaki’s team will study how molecules interact on the chromosome to form this ‘off switch’, uncovering fundamental rules behind gene silencing.
The Wellcome Career Development Award funding will support three researchers over eight years, providing training in cutting-edge technologies and enhancing laboratory infrastructure.
Dr Markaki, who is Principal Investigator at the University’s Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology, said: “We are deeply grateful to Wellcome for believing in our vision and excited for the journey ahead. By capturing how RNA and protein molecules interact to shut down one X chromosome during early embryonic development, we hope to shed light on gene silencing and its role in diseases like lupus, where the silenced X chromosome partially reactivates.”