Dear all,

It is my pleasure to announce that we will host Dr Sonia Stefanovic from the Centre for CardioVascular and Nutrition Research (C2VN) at Aix-Marseille University for an external seminar on the 15th December at 11.30AM in the Conference room (Bloc 5, TPR2, level 0).

Sonia Stefanovic is a group leader at the C2VN. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac development and congenital heart disease, with a particular interest in how genetic, metabolic and environmental factors interact during embryonic heart formation. Her group combines mouse models, and state-of-the-art transcriptomic, epigenomic and single-cell multi-omics approaches to investigate gene regulatory networks and epigenetic mechanisms

Title: Beyond Genetics: Modelling Gene–Environment Interactions in Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract: Congenital heart defects arise before birth and can result from interactions between genetic susceptibility and the maternal environment. Using a mouse model, we found that maternal diabetes combined with reduced activity of Nkx2-5, a gene essential for heart development, increased the frequency and severity of heart malformations. To explore the underlying mechanisms, we used single-cell multiomic approaches that jointly measure gene expression and chromatin accessibility in individual nuclei from the developing heart. These analyses revealed changes in programs controlling the growth of early heart progenitor cells and the maturation of heart muscle cells, helping explain how maternal diabetes can amplify genetic vulnerability.

See you there,

Best,

Nathalie

Nathalie Arquier, PhD
CNRS Researcher
TAGC, INSERM U1090
Aix-Marseille Université
Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Case 928
13288 Marseille cedex 9, France
+33 4 91 82 87 27

https://tagc.univ-amu.fr/en/users/arquier-nathalie
Https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6833-2069
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-arquier-244375419