Dhaval Varshney Postdoctoral Fellow
I joined the lab in September 2012.
Nicola Phillips Postdoctoral Fellow
Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis PhD student
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
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
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
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
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
- Postdoc, 2008-09
- Last sighting: Postdoc, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
Rebecca Bounds
- Postdoc, 2009-11
- Last sighting: Clinical Trials Administrator, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Gavin Preston
- Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Student, 2008-11
- Last sighting: Clinical Lecturer in Haematology, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, UK