Awarded in 2020
Home Department: Genetics
Faculty Advisors: Alistair Boettiger (Developmental Biology) and Andrew Spakowitz (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering)

Research Title: Linking Structure to Function: How Polycomb-Mediated DNA Folding Acts as a Novel Layer of Transcription Regulation

Research Description: Polycomb Group Proteins (PcGs) interact with chromatin by compacting and repressing targeted regions of DNA, which regulates a conserved transcriptional memory system that is critical for stable gene repression across eukaryotes. Dysregulation of this system leads to developmental disorders and oncogenesis. Questions such as how PcGs regulate the 3D folding of chromatin, and what role this 3D structure has in transcriptional memory, are underexplored. By combining polymer modelling, super-resolution microscopy, and new genetic tools, Sedona will test how PcG-mediated structural organization of chromatin maintains a repressive state in a dynamic nuclear environment.

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Sedona is part of the inaugural Yale School of Medicine Science Fellows program.