Sarah Woodsford

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Nikolaou lab based in the Living Systems Institute, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Our group is interested in understanding how functional neuronal connections are formed, including the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate this, and how deviations from normal structure and processes can lead to neurological and neurodegenerative conditions. A particular interest of the group involves understanding how local RNA processing is regulated within neurons, including the role of protein-protein and RNA-protein interactions of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) outside of the nucleus. Our research uses zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a vertebrate genetic model system to investigate how extra-nuclear RBPs interact with their RNA targets and protein interactors, and to visualise these processes in vivo.

My current research forms part of a programme of work aiming to understand the extra-nuclear function of a major spliceosome protein, SNRNP70, in modulating the axonal transcriptome and its role in regulating neuronal connectivity.

Before joining the Nikolaou lab, I completed my PhD in Biological Sciences between the University of Exeter and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Weymouth, UK, funded by a studentship from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). My PhD research investigated the molecular mechanisms of invertebrate immune priming, with a particular focus on the Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas) as a model species, and utilised transcriptomic, microbiome and epigenetic analyses to provide an integrated multi-omics approach to exploring primed immune memory. I am particularly interested in the fields of molecular genetics and disease, especially how next-generation sequencing technologies can be utilised for understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning disease. I am interested in how this knowledge can be applied in understanding and improving animal and/or human health, both in the fields of infectious disease/immunology and neurological/neurodegenerative conditions. Throughout my PhD, I also developed a particular interest in epigenetics and the potential for utilising sensitive periods of epigenetic reprogramming within the methylome as windows for applying immune priming or stress priming treatments to enhance later life resilience, and the integration of epigenetic analyses with transcriptomic and microbiome datasets to help elucidate mechanisms of priming regulation.