Home Department: Human Biology
Mentor: Margaret Fuller (Developmental Biology, Genetics, and Obstetrics
& Gynecology - Reproductive Biology)

“Investigating How Smooth Represses cdc25 Translation to Regulate Meiosis in the Drosophila Male Germline"

In germ cell development, translational control is crucial for regulating the timing of the meiotic cell cycle. In the Drosophila male germline, a conserved RNA-binding protein called Smooth is required to repress translation of cdc25 RNA, encoding a cell cycle factor required for meiotic division. Cordelia’s project will investigate the mechanism by which Smooth represses cdc25 translation and what reverses that repression prior to the meiotic divisions. Mutations in the human homolog of Smooth, hnRNPL, have been identified in many cancers, and expanding knowledge of the role of Smooth in translational control could offer valuable therapeutic insight for hnRNPL-related cancers.