Bringing Biotech and Nature together through Evolution | Transcriptomics, Functional Genomics. I study how CRISPR-Cas9 mutations impact behavior and evolution.
Why molecular research in butterflies? Some might see them as simply ornamental creatures, but in research, they play a crucial role in understanding evolutionary mechanisms. Certain butterflies reveal variations in patterns among populations, making them prime targets for gene-wide association studies that uncover evolutionary genomic hotspots. Ever wondered how these hotspots function and evolve? Me too! CRISPR-Cas9 really made this possible. Scientist were finally able to look at the genomic data on the computer screen and mutate it in a living organism to see if they work or are they noise - there is a lot of noise in biology. The advantage of the butterfly wing is that you see the result in-vivo in a single life cycle from caterpillar to grown butterfly. The CRISPR perturbation assays are interpreted as changes in a single wing scale-cell; they reveal themselves as a clonal mosaic aberration on the wing. Much like different colored tiles cutting through an otherwise generic brown clay tile roof. #TLDR I sit here reflecting on how best to attract attention to my CV. I wonder if recruiters in the tech industry truly grasp the profound insights this research offers on disease processes such as cell identity, gene regulation, and as we discovered - non-coding RNA elements. I believe this field offers deep value in the general understanding of molecular - health related mechanisms.
