School of Biomedical Sciences cordially invites you to join the following seminar:

Speaker: Dr. Alex de Mendoza, Senior Lecturer, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
Talk Title: Reassessing the roots of DNA methylation function across the eukaryotes

Date: 24 April 2025 (Thursday)
Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Venue: Seminar Room 4, G/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road
Host: Professor Ralf Jauch

Biography

Alex de Mendoza completed a PhD at the University of Barcelona (Spain), focusing on the comparative genomics of unicellular relatives of animals under the supervision of Prof. Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo. The main discovery was that many of the tools required for animal development originated earlier than believed, in a unicellular context. Subsequently, Dr. de Mendoza trained as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Ryan Lister at The University of Western Australia, working on comparative epigenomics across a diverse range of organisms, from dinoflagellates to humans. In January 2020, he joined Queen Mary University of London and established his own research group, which focuses on the evolution of epigenetics, transposable elements, and transcription factors.

Abstract

Gene regulation plays a pivotal role in eukaryotes, particularly in multicellular organisms, where diverse cell type programs are encoded within a single genome. However, the evolution of these regulatory pathways is complex, marked by cycles of simplification and expansion that often coincide with major evolutionary transitions. In the laboratory, we investigate the origins of DNA methylation in eukaryotes, aiming to understand the divergent evolutionary trajectories of 5-methylcytosine and 6-methyladenine. To explore these questions, we apply comparative and functional genomics to non-conventional model systems, emphasizing the importance of broad taxonomic sampling for a deeper understanding of eukaryotic gene regulation.

ALL ARE WELCOME.