Dhaval Varshney Postdoctoral Fellow

Dhaval Varshney

I joined the lab in September 2012.

Nicola Phillips Postdoctoral Fellow

Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis PhD student

Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis

I joined Vicky’s lab in October 2008 as a Ph.D student funded by BBSRC. I am focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which mRNA cap methylation is regulated.

In 2007 I obtained my B.Sc. in Biology from the Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. In 2008 I received a M.Sc degree in molecular sciences from King’s College, London. During my studies I have worked in Dr. Vassilacopoulou’s and Dr. Panareou’s labs studying neurobiology and protein folding, respectively.

Michael Aregger PhD student

Michael Aregger

I joined Vicky’s lab in 2009 to do a 4-year PhD funded by Cancer Research UK. In my PhD project I am investigating the regulation of the human cap methyltransferase RNMT.

Before coming to Dundee I studied Biology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. From there I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology (2006) and Master of Science in Plant Sciences (2008). After my MSc degree I worked for a year in Thomas Hohn’s group at the Botanical Institute in Basel where I studied the interaction of the plant RNA silencing machinery with viruses.

Sianadh Dunn PhD student

Sianadh Dunn

I joined the lab in October 2010 as a PhD student supported by the MRC. My project is focused on investigating the biological role of RNMT, the human cap methyltransferase.

Before joining the lab I obtained a BSc in Virology from the University of Glasgow. During my undergraduate studies, I completed a research internship at the The Ruhr-Universität Bochum, in Germany, where my research was primarily focused on enteric viruses.

Anna Kelner PhD student

Anna Kelner

I joined the Wellcome Trust PhD Programme at The University of Dundee in 2010. From 2011, I have been carrying out a joint project with Mike Ferguson and Vicky studying translation and the mRNA methyl cap in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009. My senior thesis research topic was on phosphatidylinositols in vacuole membrane fusion. After graduation, I worked as a DNA sequencing and genetics technician at the University of Texas in Austin. Studying at the University of Manchester for a semester motivated me to return to the UK for my PhD, so I chose the Wellcome Trust PhD Programme at The University of Dundee studying translation and the mRNA methyl cap in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

Laura Grasso PhD student

Laura Grasso

I am a Wellcome Trust PhD student, currently rotating in the lab (2012). I am investigating the role of the methyl cap in stem cells.

Former members

Elena Fernandez Sanchez

Rebecca Bounds

Gavin Preston