Ionel Sandovici
@isandovici.bsky.social
Scientist at University of Cambridge. Interested in epigenetics, developmental biology, metabolism and ageing.
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
New preprint from the lab! We dig into the regulatory roles of TEs in the mouse placenta, with some surprising findings. Led by the awesome @smamante.bsky.social. Particular kudos to him for navigating the many twists and turns of the project.
www.biorxiv.org
February 2, 2026 at 10:25 AM
New preprint from the lab! We dig into the regulatory roles of TEs in the mouse placenta, with some surprising findings. Led by the awesome @smamante.bsky.social. Particular kudos to him for navigating the many twists and turns of the project.
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Exciting News!
🚀 Registration Open! | Loke CTR Annual Meeting 2026 🎉
📅 16-17 July 2026
📍 St John’s College, Cambridge | 💻 Hybrid conference (in-person & online)
🔬 Epigenetics of embryogenesis and placentation
📌 To find out more and to register
www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/ctrconferenc...
🚀 Registration Open! | Loke CTR Annual Meeting 2026 🎉
📅 16-17 July 2026
📍 St John’s College, Cambridge | 💻 Hybrid conference (in-person & online)
🔬 Epigenetics of embryogenesis and placentation
📌 To find out more and to register
www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/ctrconferenc...
January 15, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Exciting News!
🚀 Registration Open! | Loke CTR Annual Meeting 2026 🎉
📅 16-17 July 2026
📍 St John’s College, Cambridge | 💻 Hybrid conference (in-person & online)
🔬 Epigenetics of embryogenesis and placentation
📌 To find out more and to register
www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/ctrconferenc...
🚀 Registration Open! | Loke CTR Annual Meeting 2026 🎉
📅 16-17 July 2026
📍 St John’s College, Cambridge | 💻 Hybrid conference (in-person & online)
🔬 Epigenetics of embryogenesis and placentation
📌 To find out more and to register
www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/ctrconferenc...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
This went under the radar but answers a fundamental question in Epigenetics...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The transcription of a single olfactory receptor per neuron is enforced by epigenetic silencing of their enhancers
The ability to discriminate thousands of odors in our environment requires each olfactory neuron to express a single olfactory receptor from hundreds of available genes. The biochemical mechanism enfo...
www.biorxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 12:51 PM
This went under the radar but answers a fundamental question in Epigenetics...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?
Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
November 7, 2025 at 11:43 PM
When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Applications close tomorrow!! Fully funded 4-year PhD studentships in reproductive and placental biology.
Last chance to apply go to trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/phd-studentships
Last chance to apply go to trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/phd-studentships
November 3, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Applications close tomorrow!! Fully funded 4-year PhD studentships in reproductive and placental biology.
Last chance to apply go to trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/phd-studentships
Last chance to apply go to trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/phd-studentships
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Sad to hear of the death of John Gurdon this morning, aged 92.
Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS (1933-2025) | Magdalene College
Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.
www.magd.cam.ac.uk
October 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Sad to hear of the death of John Gurdon this morning, aged 92.
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Thrilled to share that our Group Leader Prof. Azim Surani, together with Prof. Davor Solter, has been awarded the 2026 Paul Ehrlich & Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 🎉 for discovering genomic imprinting—a breakthrough that reshaped genetics and launched modern epigenetics.
September 18, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Thrilled to share that our Group Leader Prof. Azim Surani, together with Prof. Davor Solter, has been awarded the 2026 Paul Ehrlich & Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 🎉 for discovering genomic imprinting—a breakthrough that reshaped genetics and launched modern epigenetics.
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
#1 Centromeres are epigenetic loci defined by CENP-A, positioned in unmethylated DNA flanked by highly methylated regions. Our work, published in @natgenet.nature.com in collaboration with @naltemose.bsky.social investigates the role of DNAme at human centromeres www.nature.com/articles/s41...
DNA methylation influences human centromere positioning and function - Nature Genetics
Genome-wide and targeted perturbation of DNA methylation at centromeres affects CENP-A positioning and centromere structure, resulting in aneuploidy and reduced cell viability.
www.nature.com
September 4, 2025 at 1:10 PM
#1 Centromeres are epigenetic loci defined by CENP-A, positioned in unmethylated DNA flanked by highly methylated regions. Our work, published in @natgenet.nature.com in collaboration with @naltemose.bsky.social investigates the role of DNAme at human centromeres www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
[please retweet] I’m #hiring! The Millman Lab is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to lead an exciting new project focused on vascularized #stemcell-derived islets for #diabetes disease modeling and cell replacement therapy. Email me your CV and cover letter.
August 28, 2025 at 5:06 PM
[please retweet] I’m #hiring! The Millman Lab is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to lead an exciting new project focused on vascularized #stemcell-derived islets for #diabetes disease modeling and cell replacement therapy. Email me your CV and cover letter.
A very nice paper in the developmental programming field, linking childhood eczema to maternal stress during pregnancy. rdcu.be/eCKOI
Maternal stress triggers early-life eczema through fetal mast cell programming
Nature - Prenatal stress triggers molecular dysregulations in fetal neuroimmune circuits, leading to altered mast cell and sensory neuron function, which predisposes offspring to develop eczema in...
rdcu.be
August 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM
A very nice paper in the developmental programming field, linking childhood eczema to maternal stress during pregnancy. rdcu.be/eCKOI
Glad to see this review out. Epigenetic Changes Associated With Obesity-related Metabolic Comorbidities url: academic.oup.com/jes/article/...
Epigenetic Changes Associated With Obesity-related Metabolic Comorbidities
Abstract. Obesity arises from a complex interaction of genetic, hormonal, dietary, and behavioral factors that drive chronic energy imbalance, excessive fa
academic.oup.com
August 25, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Glad to see this review out. Epigenetic Changes Associated With Obesity-related Metabolic Comorbidities url: academic.oup.com/jes/article/...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
🚨 New paper alert 🚨
I am excited to share our new work on epigenetic enhancer priming in early mammalian development
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Fantastic collaboration with Wolf Reik’s team, with key contributions from many others, led by the excellent Chris Todd.
Short 🧵
I am excited to share our new work on epigenetic enhancer priming in early mammalian development
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Fantastic collaboration with Wolf Reik’s team, with key contributions from many others, led by the excellent Chris Todd.
Short 🧵
Epigenetic priming of mammalian embryonic enhancer elements coordinates developmental gene networks - Genome Biology
Background Embryonic development requires the accurate spatiotemporal execution of cell lineage-specific gene expression programs, which are controlled by transcriptional enhancers. Developmental enha...
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com
July 22, 2025 at 10:26 PM
🚨 New paper alert 🚨
I am excited to share our new work on epigenetic enhancer priming in early mammalian development
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Fantastic collaboration with Wolf Reik’s team, with key contributions from many others, led by the excellent Chris Todd.
Short 🧵
I am excited to share our new work on epigenetic enhancer priming in early mammalian development
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Fantastic collaboration with Wolf Reik’s team, with key contributions from many others, led by the excellent Chris Todd.
Short 🧵
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
How do enhancer-gene contacts relate to transcription activation? In mouse embryonic stem cells, a combo of STED, oligoFISH & RNA FISH shows that 3% of Dppa3 alleles transcribe. For these, enhancers and promoters come closer (panel E). Stumberger ... Leonhardt & Harz www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
July 26, 2025 at 9:36 PM
How do enhancer-gene contacts relate to transcription activation? In mouse embryonic stem cells, a combo of STED, oligoFISH & RNA FISH shows that 3% of Dppa3 alleles transcribe. For these, enhancers and promoters come closer (panel E). Stumberger ... Leonhardt & Harz www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
1/n Very excited to share our recent paper published on
@ScienceAdvances
where we dissect the gene regulatory landscape guiding mouse sex determination!
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A huge well done to @IsabelleStevant.genomic.social.ap.brid.gy, Meshi and Elisheva who spearhead this project!
@ScienceAdvances
where we dissect the gene regulatory landscape guiding mouse sex determination!
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A huge well done to @IsabelleStevant.genomic.social.ap.brid.gy, Meshi and Elisheva who spearhead this project!
The gene regulatory landscape driving mouse gonadal supporting cell differentiation
Multiomics analysis revealed the regulatory elements and transcription factors responsible for gonadal sex determination.
science.org
July 27, 2025 at 6:04 AM
1/n Very excited to share our recent paper published on
@ScienceAdvances
where we dissect the gene regulatory landscape guiding mouse sex determination!
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A huge well done to @IsabelleStevant.genomic.social.ap.brid.gy, Meshi and Elisheva who spearhead this project!
@ScienceAdvances
where we dissect the gene regulatory landscape guiding mouse sex determination!
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A huge well done to @IsabelleStevant.genomic.social.ap.brid.gy, Meshi and Elisheva who spearhead this project!
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Also, check out the News & Views summarizing our findings, written by Youjia Guo & @themodzlab.bsky.social 🤩🤩
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
July 9, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Also, check out the News & Views summarizing our findings, written by Youjia Guo & @themodzlab.bsky.social 🤩🤩
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Are you passionate about data and do you enjoy coding in Stata? Come and work with me at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology in Cambridge! Please share with anyone who might be interested, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51739/
Research Associate (Data Science) (Fixed Term) - Job Opportunities - University of Cambridge
Research Associate (Data Science) (Fixed Term) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Cambridge.
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk
June 19, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Are you passionate about data and do you enjoy coding in Stata? Come and work with me at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology in Cambridge! Please share with anyone who might be interested, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51739/
Very cool paper connecting nutrition, epigenetics and developmental biology. rdcu.be/eptl7
Maternal iron deficiency causes male-to-female sex reversal in mouse embryos
Nature - Iron-deficient conditions in pregnant mice can cause XY mouse embryos to develop female rather than male genitalia, revealing that iron metabolism has a role in determining male sex in mice.
rdcu.be
June 4, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Very cool paper connecting nutrition, epigenetics and developmental biology. rdcu.be/eptl7
Happy to see this paper from David Grattan’s lab (@prolactinguy.bsky.social). And glad to have made a small contribution. Loss of choroid plexus‐derived insulin‐like growth factor 2 (IGF2) leads to hyposmia, while retaining post‐partum mood resilience in mice. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
<em>Journal of Neuroendocrinology</em> | BSN Journal | Wiley Online Library
During the post-partum period, new mothers are vulnerable to mood disorders. In adults, impairments in neurogenesis commonly associate with anxiety and depressive behaviors. Insulin-like growth facto....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 4, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Happy to see this paper from David Grattan’s lab (@prolactinguy.bsky.social). And glad to have made a small contribution. Loss of choroid plexus‐derived insulin‐like growth factor 2 (IGF2) leads to hyposmia, while retaining post‐partum mood resilience in mice. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
We're excited to publish our latest study led by Bryony Leeke @bryonyleeke.bsky.social and Wazeer Varsally, now out in @nature.com 🍾This study focusses on the epigenome of marsupial embryos 🦘 mapping DNA methylation in embryo development to specific embryo events www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵
Divergent DNA methylation dynamics in marsupial and eutherian embryos - Nature
A study reports on the DNA methylation dynamics during embryogenesis in marsupials, showing that these differ from those occurring during embryogenesis in eutherian mammals.
www.nature.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:01 PM
We're excited to publish our latest study led by Bryony Leeke @bryonyleeke.bsky.social and Wazeer Varsally, now out in @nature.com 🍾This study focusses on the epigenome of marsupial embryos 🦘 mapping DNA methylation in embryo development to specific embryo events www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
🎉 Huge congratulations to Prof. Kathy Niakan on receiving the 2025 Mary Lyon Medal! @niakanlab.bsky.social's Mary Lyon Medal lecture is on the genetic approaches to study early lineage specification in human embryos.
#Epigenetics2025
#Epigenetics2025
April 23, 2025 at 4:13 PM
🎉 Huge congratulations to Prof. Kathy Niakan on receiving the 2025 Mary Lyon Medal! @niakanlab.bsky.social's Mary Lyon Medal lecture is on the genetic approaches to study early lineage specification in human embryos.
#Epigenetics2025
#Epigenetics2025
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Thrilled to share new work led by @jieyang437.bsky.social in the lab published today in @Nature. We find that Aspirin prevents metastasis by releasing T cells from immune suppression by platelet TXA2. @Cambridge_Uni @CRUKCamCentre rdcu.be/eci1U
March 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Thrilled to share new work led by @jieyang437.bsky.social in the lab published today in @Nature. We find that Aspirin prevents metastasis by releasing T cells from immune suppression by platelet TXA2. @Cambridge_Uni @CRUKCamCentre rdcu.be/eci1U
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Wondering whether your cancer risk might start before you are born? Our latest work published in #Nature Cancer suggests it does, through regulation by Trim28 and #epigenetic silencing. Congratulations to @ilariapanzeri.bsky.social for spearheading! Read it here: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
TRIM28-dependent developmental heterogeneity determines cancer susceptibility through distinct epigenetic states - Nature Cancer
Panzeri et al. use a Trim28+/D9 mouse model with intrinsic developmental heterogeneity to show that ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ developmental morphs exhibit different timing, type and severity of cancer, link...
www.nature.com
January 27, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Wondering whether your cancer risk might start before you are born? Our latest work published in #Nature Cancer suggests it does, through regulation by Trim28 and #epigenetic silencing. Congratulations to @ilariapanzeri.bsky.social for spearheading! Read it here: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
We thrilled to see our latest study led by @jeremie-subrini.bsky.social now out in @science.org 🔬
What are the specific functions of each Y-chromosome gene in fertility ? We generated and studied 13 Y-gene KO mouse models to find out! 🧬
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
What are the specific functions of each Y-chromosome gene in fertility ? We generated and studied 13 Y-gene KO mouse models to find out! 🧬
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
www.science.org
January 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
We thrilled to see our latest study led by @jeremie-subrini.bsky.social now out in @science.org 🔬
What are the specific functions of each Y-chromosome gene in fertility ? We generated and studied 13 Y-gene KO mouse models to find out! 🧬
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
What are the specific functions of each Y-chromosome gene in fertility ? We generated and studied 13 Y-gene KO mouse models to find out! 🧬
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
Small but mighty: multiple Y chromosome contributions to mouse spermatogenesis @lab-turner.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Systematic identification of Y-chromosome gene functions in mouse spermatogenesis
The mammalian Y chromosome is essential for male fertility, but which Y genes regulate spermatogenesis is unresolved. We addressed this by generating 13 Y-deletant mouse models. In Eif2s3y, Uty, and Z...
www.science.org
January 24, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Small but mighty: multiple Y chromosome contributions to mouse spermatogenesis @lab-turner.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Ionel Sandovici
We are hiring! 3-year BBSRC-funded postdoc position available. TEs, epigenetics, pregnancy: if you love one or more of these keywords, apply through the link below.
Please spread the word.
Please spread the word.
Postdoctoral Research Associate - QMUL Jobs
ID: 4897. Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate . Application Deadline:
qmul-jobs.tal.net
January 21, 2025 at 9:33 AM
We are hiring! 3-year BBSRC-funded postdoc position available. TEs, epigenetics, pregnancy: if you love one or more of these keywords, apply through the link below.
Please spread the word.
Please spread the word.