Re-upping this announcement with a newer version of our flyer! Looking for a supportive & interdisciplinary training environment? Apply here!👉bit.ly/3VwZL29

🚨The deadline to apply for Lehigh University’s Biological Sciences PhD program is just a few weeks away! Are you (or do you know) an amazing undergrad, post-bac, or master’s student passionate about science & ready to thrive in a supportive, interdisciplinary environment? Apply here!👉bit.ly/3VwZL29

Heading to sunny San Diego for #CellBio2024 this week? ☀️🌅 Join us for the "#Meiosis4Eva: Frontiers in Meiosis and Germ Cell Biology" Subgroup! 🗓️ Wed Dec 18th 9:00 - 10:30am, Room 33B. 👉 bit.ly/49okQkZ #Meiosis4Eva #meiosis4ever

Together, our findings provide direct evidence of a mechanosensitive ion channel in detecting/responding to events originating in the oocyte nucleus. This suggests a new surveillance mechanism and sets up the stage for exploring how the dynamic nuclear envelope promotes meiotic quality control. 8/10

Mechanosensitive channel PEZO-1 spreads across the nuclear envelope of late pachytene oocytes but redistributes to form clusters/foci during synapsis checkpoint activation. Interestingly, this redistribution depends on PCH-2/TRIP13, a conserved AAA+ATPase important to meiosis in many organisms. 7/10

How does it work? Long story short, by combining CIP, imaging, and genetics, we demonstrate that PLK-2 recruitment phosphorylates the nuclear lamina, causing destabilization of the oocyte nuclear envelope. This in turn triggers a Piezo1/PEZO-1 dependent apoptosis to eliminate defective oocytes. 6/10

Based on pioneering work in plants, we built a Chemically Induced Proximity (CIP) system in 🪱 to manipulate PLK-2’s subcellular localization in vivo. By keeping PLK-2 at the PCs, we triggered apoptosis even after synapsis, demonstrating PLK-2 is key to this quality control pathway. 5/10

🥚 Meiosis produces healthy eggs by halving chromosome numbers. To segregate, each pair of chromosomes must zip-up (“synapsis”). Synapsis failure can cause chromosome missegregation & aneuploidy. Our study uncovers a checkpoint mechanism by which oocytes detect and respond to synapsis failure. 2/10

Had a blast at the Mid-Atlantic Meiosis Mini-symposium at the NIH yesterday! First meeting attended as a new lab! Thank you @takashiakeralab.bsky.social @scienceleah.bsky.social and @florpratto.bsky.social for putting together such a wonderful meeting! What a treat to be part of it! #Meiosis4Eva

Hello world! I am a #NewPI starting my lab at Lehigh University after completing my postdoc training with @adernburg.bsky.social at UC Berkeley. My lab explores how quality control is achieved during meiosis, by combining cell biology, genetics, and more. Excited to (re)connect here! #Meiosis4Eva