Sarena Banu Nagoor Pitchai
I am a PhD student at the University of Hull's Energy and Environment Institute (EEI) and
Department of Biomedical Sciences, funded by the NERC PANORAMA Doctoral training programme. I am working with Dr Katharina Wollenberg Valero and Dr Francisco Rivero to investigate the effects of climate change on single cell to multicellular levels. I completed my undergraduate degree in biotechnology. I am fascinated by developmental biology, and I have worked with multidisciplinary scientists in India to understand the mechanisms of regeneration, wound healing, and innate immunity in cellular and organismal development.
My project is titled "Climate change meets life’s crunch point-how do heatwaves affect the basic functions of life?"
The rise in average global temperature has increased the frequency, duration, and severity of heatwaves. Heatwaves have a significant impact on physiology and molecular functions, which affect the reproduction, growth, and development of living organisms. Notably, hardly any studies have examined the effects of heatwaves from the single cell level (where all organisms begin) to the multicellular level later in the life cycle. The hypothesis is that heatwaves at early stages have an impact on fundamental processes such as cell cohesion and communication with other cells, which is likely to affect organismal and population fitness later in life. To address this hypothesis, this project will use a range of molecular techniques to investigate genomic, proteomic,
epigenomic, and cellular signalling regulation in extreme environments in two well-
established model organisms from opposite ends of the evolutionary tree: the slime mould
Dictyostelium discoideum and the zebrafish Danio rerio.
My project aims to answer two main questions: (i) How do genes, proteins, and their signalling drive multicellular transitions and coordinate development in extreme environments? and (ii) In unfavourable conditions, how does the cellular mechanism drive the fitness strategy?
Qualification and Experience
2022-Current-Postgraduate researcher at the University of Hull investigating cellular stress
mechanisms in multicellular transition under heat stress.
2019-2022: Project Associate in multidisciplinary developmental biology projects at the
CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) institute in India.
2014-2018: Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology at Anna University, India.
Research Interest and Quest
Publications
Available at Google Scholar (link) and Research Gate (link)
Department of Biomedical Sciences, funded by the NERC PANORAMA Doctoral training programme. I am working with Dr Katharina Wollenberg Valero and Dr Francisco Rivero to investigate the effects of climate change on single cell to multicellular levels. I completed my undergraduate degree in biotechnology. I am fascinated by developmental biology, and I have worked with multidisciplinary scientists in India to understand the mechanisms of regeneration, wound healing, and innate immunity in cellular and organismal development.
My project is titled "Climate change meets life’s crunch point-how do heatwaves affect the basic functions of life?"
The rise in average global temperature has increased the frequency, duration, and severity of heatwaves. Heatwaves have a significant impact on physiology and molecular functions, which affect the reproduction, growth, and development of living organisms. Notably, hardly any studies have examined the effects of heatwaves from the single cell level (where all organisms begin) to the multicellular level later in the life cycle. The hypothesis is that heatwaves at early stages have an impact on fundamental processes such as cell cohesion and communication with other cells, which is likely to affect organismal and population fitness later in life. To address this hypothesis, this project will use a range of molecular techniques to investigate genomic, proteomic,
epigenomic, and cellular signalling regulation in extreme environments in two well-
established model organisms from opposite ends of the evolutionary tree: the slime mould
Dictyostelium discoideum and the zebrafish Danio rerio.
My project aims to answer two main questions: (i) How do genes, proteins, and their signalling drive multicellular transitions and coordinate development in extreme environments? and (ii) In unfavourable conditions, how does the cellular mechanism drive the fitness strategy?
Qualification and Experience
2022-Current-Postgraduate researcher at the University of Hull investigating cellular stress
mechanisms in multicellular transition under heat stress.
2019-2022: Project Associate in multidisciplinary developmental biology projects at the
CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) institute in India.
2014-2018: Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology at Anna University, India.
Research Interest and Quest
Publications
Available at Google Scholar (link) and Research Gate (link)
