Description
DR GÜNES TAYLORTHE FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE
13 SEPTEMBER 2023
13:30-14:30
ROSLIN AUDITORIUM
TITLE: “The role of FOXL2 in pregranulosa cell specification and activation within the vertebrate ovary”
HOST: DOUG VERNIMMEN
14:30-15:30 Career Development Committee session
Chair: Enrique Sanchez Molano
BIOGRAPHY:
Güneş Taylor is a postdoctoral fellow at The Francis Crick Institute, London and studies the formation and function of pregranulosa cells in the vertebrate ovary.
Güneş obtained her undergraduate degree in Human Genetics from the University of Nottingham where she conducted her Master’s research project, altering the site-specificity of cytidine deaminase APOBEC3G, in the lab of Prof. John Armour.
During her DPhil at the University of Oxford with Prof. Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Güneş contributed to the development of new methodologies for CRISPR/Cas9 genome and epigenome editing and biotin-ChIP-sequencing in chicken embryos. Her subsequent doctoral research employed these tools to study the regulation of chromatin remodeller CHD7 during avian neural crest development. She identified several novel neural crest-specific CHD7 enhancers in the chicken genome, probed their regulation by tissue-specific transcription factors such as SOX10, and showed that these enhancers are conserved in human.
Güneş’ postdoctoral research with Prof. Robin Lovell-Badge in The Francis Crick Institute has centred on pregranulosa cell specification during avian sex determination and activation in mouse ovarian development. In collaboration with Prof. Michael Clinton and Prof. Mike McGrew at The Roslin Institute, it was revealed that Z-chromosome linked transcription factor DMRT1 is key to a dosage sensitive mechanism of gonadal sex determination in chicken and that transcription factor FOXL2 is essential for pre-granulosa cell specification in the ovary. In collaboration with Dr Jessie Sutherland at The University of Newcastle, Australia, gene expression changes within pregranulosa cells undergoing primordial follicle activation have been identified.
Güneş lectures on developmental biology, gene regulation and biological sex vs gender at several London-based universities. Güneş has extensive science communication experience and is the Editor of The Genetics Society Magazine. During the 2020-2021 pandemic research hiatus, she was an active member of the Crick COVID-19 Consortium involved in testing of frontline workers and delivering vaccinations to the public.
| Period | 13 Sept 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Moredun, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | Local |