Event date:
Apr 7 2021 3:00 pm

The Role of Spatial Proximity in Genome Regulation

Speaker(s)
Professor Dr. Wendy Bickmore
Venue
Zoom/Online
Abstract
Imaging and genomic technologies have opened up large-scale interrogation of 3D genome organisation in the cell nucleus. This has revealed multiple layers of organisation and at different scales, including distal interactions of genome compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs) and specific cis interactions between either active or repressive elements. Progress is being made toward understanding the molecular mechanisms that mediate these layers of organisation. However, understanding the functional significance of 3D organisation across genomic scales lags behind. To what extent does 3D organisation drive genome regulation, or are some aspects of 3D organisation simply an emergent property of genome and protein functions? In this talk I will describe our efforts to determine the functional significance of the 3D genome – from the action of polycomb complexes in bridging distal interactions between repressed loci, to the role of TADs and enhancer-promoter proximity in enhancer-driven gene activation.

Professor Dr. Wendy Bickmore will be talking about “The role of spatial proximity in genome regulation”, in the next episode of Zooming Molecular and Cellular Biology. The session will be LIVE online via Zoom.  

Professor Dr. Wendy Bickmore is currently the Director of MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh. Prof. Bickmore is an authority on the three-dimensional organization of the human genome and how that influences genome function in health and disease. Her current research explores how the non-coding genome regulates gene expression. Wendy is a Fellow of; the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Academy of Medical Sciences and is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.

 

About the speaker:

Wendy Bickmore is Director of the MRC Human Genetics Unit, at the University of Edinburgh. Her undergraduate degree is in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and she then completed a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Edinburgh. Following a postdoc in human genetics, Wendy started her independent research group as a fellow of the Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine. She is fascinated by the three-dimensional organization of the human genome and how that influences genome function in health and disease. Her current research explores how the non-coding genome regulates gene expression. Wendy is a Fellow of; the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Academy of Medical Sciences and is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.