Dr Suzanne My-Trinh Tran

PhD Organic Chemistry (Manchester university, UK)
BSC Hons Chemistry (Manchester University, UK)
BSC Hons Human Physiology (Newcastle University, UK)

I am working with oocyte specific knockouts of the Cdh1 gene. Cdh1 (aka. Fizzy-related, FZR1) is an important player in the meiotic cycle as it is one of two activators of the Anaphase Promoting complex APC/C; a ubiquitin ligase which earmarks substrates for degradation at specific times to ensure unidirectional and timely progression through the meiotic cell cycle.

We have recently shown that the phenotypical profile of Cdh1 knockout oocytes mirrors our lab’s in-vitro antisense knockdown studies. Thus, confirming that Cdh1 activity is crucial for the maintenance of Prophase I Arrest as well as the retardation of Meiotic resumption, thereby allowing chromosomes to divide equally.