Toolbox
The methods behind my projects, from single-molecule imaging and enzyme kinetics to activity monitoring, explained simply.
Research
My research
I study how gene expression is controlled in early development, at chromatin and through mRNA–protein condensates, and how metabolism and behaviour connect to it. My projects span molecules, organelles, embryos and whole animals.
Research topics
7 projects, from molecules to behaviour
Choose a project to read the question, the approach and the background.
- GenerationsOngoingMicrobes, lactate and inheritanceCan lactate made by gut bacteria reach a mother’s eggs, become a chemical tag on the histone proteins that package DNA, and influence how the next generation’s genes first switch on?
- Organism & environmentOngoingBehaviour: activity and sleepHow does an animal’s metabolism shape how much it moves and sleeps across the day?
- MoleculePhosphate biosensor and FtsZHow can I watch, in real time, how fast a bacterial cell-division protein uses its fuel?
- Dropletoskar RNA condensatesHow do RNA–protein ‘droplets’ that carry oskar RNA help set aside the cells that will become the next generation’s eggs and sperm?
- OrganelleER shape and autophagyWhat happens to protein quality control and tissue shape when an ER-shaping protein is reduced in fly embryos and ovaries?
- DropletPrion protein phase separationUnder which conditions of salt, pH and concentration does the mouse prion protein form liquid-like droplets or aggregates?
- Organism & environmentEcology and evolutionHow do insects respond to light, and how do plants and their pathogens interact in a campus ecosystem?
Open questions
What I’d love to find out
- Do microbial metabolites reach the germline, and in what form (L- or D-lactate)?
- Is histone lactylation activating or repressive in the earliest embryo?
- How do mothers and fathers pass on information beyond DNA sequence?
- How much of what we learn in flies holds in mammals?
Research interests
Two core themes, chromatin in early development and mRNA–protein condensates, with open questions and landmark work.
Model system
The fruit fly: life cycle, egg chamber to stage 5 embryo, the genetic toolkit, plus the other organisms and proteins I have worked with.
Talks & posters
Where this work has been presented.
I’m open to PhD positions from 2027 in chromatin and gene regulation in development, RNA–protein condensates, and metabolism and behaviour. How my experience fits · Get in touch.