Rebecca Hobbs

Thesis Title: Unpinning the mechanism of membrane self-organisation in polarised epithelia

Franklin Supervisors: Dr Karina Pombo-Garcia, Dr Felicia Green

University: University of Oxford

University Supervisor: Dr Alexander Mietke

Cell-cell junctions in gut epithelial cells play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier. These junctions are organised along the lateral membrane and join neighbouring cells together. Cell-cell junctions can be grouped into four main types, each distinct in their composition and morphology: tight junctions, adherens junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions. Understanding their formation is essential for gaining insight into diseases associated with a compromised gut epithelial barrier, such as irritable bowel disease. Rebecca’s PhD project will employ confocal and Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy to visualise the segregation of junctional proteins during epithelial development and to elucidate the mechanisms that drive their spatial organisation, with a particular focus on the role of liquid–liquid phase separation in this process.

Rebecca attended the University of Warwick where she graduated with an integrated master’s in Biomedical Science. During her master’s year, Rebecca undertook a research project that analysed the role of the BRG1/BRM-associated factor (BAF) chromatin remodelling complex on transcript structure during trophoblast stem cell maintenance and differentiation.