PhD student (EDESIA)
I am a second year PhD student in the interdisciplinary EDESIA programme. My project aims to identify novel genetic variation associated with high concentrations of iron in wheat grains. This involves investigating a previously screened ~1400 bread wheat Cadenza TILLING lines, testing their Fe bioavailability and stability of trait in the field. Furthermore, I will also be elucidating the Fe homeostasis pathway in wheat, namely the putative iron sensor TaHRZ1/2 (a ubiquitin ligase) and its targets – TaPRI1-4, four paralogous bHLH transcription factors.
Before starting my PhD, I completed an integrated Masters degree in Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. During my final year project in Kleanthous lab, I investigated the CpoB protein, which is involved in peptidoglycan remodelling at septum in E. coli.
Publications
Liang Y, Gao Y, Fontana A, Abt MR, Gicgier AP, Liu C, Sharma M, Zoschke R, Zeeman SC, Pfister B. 2025. Maturase K forms a plastidial splicing complex with a neofunctionalized branching enzyme. BioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.08.628318
Gicgier A. 2024. Laboratory success 101: how to excel in your first lab project. Biochem (Lond) 31 July 2024; 46 (3): 43–46. https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2024_106
Borrill lab 