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<\/figure>Dr Alper Akay<\/strong> I studied Biology at the Middle East Technical University, T\u00fcrkiye and did an MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Amsterdam. I then moved to Scotland, where I did my PhD on RNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNAs in\u00a0C. elegans at the laboratory of Anton Gartner.\u00a0During my postdoctoral research with Eric Miska at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, I explored multiple RNA-mediated gene regulatory mechanisms, including small silencing RNAs, long non-coding RNAs and RNA modifications. I am particularly interested in how RNA regulates essential processes in the cell and how RNA functions as a signalling molecule during developmental processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2012 \u2013 2019 Postdoctoral researcher at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge Dr Tim Pearson<\/strong> I studied physiology at Southampton University and neurobiology at Durham University. After that, my postdoc positions have related to research in areas of; CNS oxygen deprivation and adenosine (stroke model), obstetric research into pre-mature labour (and IUGR, pre-eclampsia) and skeletal muscle research studying sarcopenia\/ageing and the role of ROS, amino acid transport and satellite cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publications Katarzyna Hencel I studied at the University of Dundee, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology. During my studies, I carried out several projects in Dr Sarah Coulthurst’s lab, whose group focuses on studying the type VI secretion system in Serratia marcescens. I will investigate how metabolism regulates RNA modifications in C. elegans<\/em> during my PhD project. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Aykut Shen I completed my BSc at the University of Dundee, Scotland, in Biological Sciences, focusing on bioinformatics. Through the James Black student internship in the Holden Lab at the James Hutton Institute, I had an opportunity to contribute to a project which aimed to improve the new practice of producing foods and medicines, the vertical farms. I completed my honours project in the Simpson Lab in the division of gene regulation and expression, focusing on identifying and characterising non-coding RNAs in the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana<\/em>. I will use RNA sequencing technologies during my PhD to study RNA modifications and splicing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n John Williams I completed my undergraduate at the University of East Anglia. My final year project was at the Earlham Institute. I started my BBSRC-funded NRPDTP PhD project in October 2023. During my PhD, I will study how modified RNAs and RNA-modifying enzymes are deposited to oocytes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Max Brown<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Ekemini Okon<\/strong> I completed my undergraduate studies at Landmark University, Nigeria, and went on to earn two master\u2019s degrees from the University of Stirling (UK) and Ghent University (Belgium) through the Commonwealth and Erasmus Mundus scholarship programmes. I began my MMB DTP funded PhD in October 2025, where my research focuses on bacterial metabolites that can alleviate vitamin B12 deficiency, using Caenorhabditis elegans<\/em> as a model organism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Juliet Ibuchim Agu<\/strong> Gulcin Baykal – Erasmus student<\/strong> 2025<\/strong> 2022<\/strong> 2023<\/strong> 2024<\/strong> 2025<\/strong> 2026<\/strong> Current Lab Members Dr Alper AkayUKRI Future Leaders Fellow \/ Principal Investigator I studied Biology at the Middle East Technical University, T\u00fcrkiye and did an MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Amsterdam. I then moved to Scotland, where I did my PhD on RNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNAs in\u00a0C. elegans at the laboratory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":11,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"aalper","author_link":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Current Lab Members Dr Alper AkayUKRI Future Leaders Fellow \/ Principal Investigator I studied Biology at the Middle East Technical University, T\u00fcrkiye and did an MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Amsterdam. I then moved to Scotland, where I did my PhD on RNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNAs in\u00a0C. elegans at the laboratory…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":485,"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/485"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow \/ Principal Investigator<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2007 \u2013 2012 PhD at the University of Dundee, Anton Gartner\u2019s lab
2005 \u2013 2007 MSc at the University of Amsterdam
2000 \u2013 2005 BSc at the Middle East Technical University<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Senior Research Associate<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2212Enhanced small neutral but not branched chain amino acid transport after epigenetic sodium coupled neutral amino acid transporter-2 (SNAT2) cDNA expression in myoblasts. Pearson, T., Wendowski, O. & Powell, P. (2021). Jnl of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle<\/em>. 12(3): 811-822.
\u2212The WD and linker domains of ATG16L1 required for non canonical autophagy limit lethal influenza A virus infection at epithelial surfaces, Wang, Y., Sharma, P., Jefferson, M., Zhang, W., Bone, B., Kipar, A., Bitto, D., Coombes, J., Pearson, T., Man, A., Zhekova, A., Bao, Y., Tripp, R., Carding, S., Yamauchi, Y., Mayer, U., Powell, P., Stewart, J. & Wileman, T. EMBO<\/em> (2021) 40(5):e105543.
\u2212The ATG5-binding domain and coiled coil domains of ATG16L1 maintain autophagy and tissue homeostasis in mice independently of the WD domain required for LC3 associated phagocytosis. Rai, S., Arasteh, Jefferson, M., Pearson, T., Wang, Y., Zhang, W., Bicsak, B., Divekar, D., Powell, P., Nauman, R., Beraza, N., Carding, S., Florey, O., Mayer, U. & Wileman, T. Autophagy<\/em> (2018) 15(4): 599-612.
\u2212The role of eEif6 in skeletal muscle homeostasis. Revealed by endurance training co-expression networks. Clarke, K., Ricciardi, S., Pearson, T., Bharudin, I., Davidson, P., Bonomo, M., Brina, D., Scagliola, A., Simpson, D., Beynon, R., Khanim, F., Ankers, J., Sarzynski, M., Gosh, S., Pisconti, A., Rozman, J., Hrabe de Angelis, M., Bunce, C., Stewart, C., Egginton, S., Caddick, M., Jackson, M., Bouchard, C., Biffo, S. & Falciani, F. Cell Reports<\/em> (2017) 21(6):1507-1520.
\u2212Long-term administration of the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant mitoquinone mesylate fails to attenuate age-related oxidative damage or rescue the loss of muscle mass and function associated with aging of skeletal muscle. Sakellariou, G., Pearson, T., Lightfoot, A., Nye, G., Wells, N., Giakoumaki, I., Griffiths, R., McArdle, A. & Jackson, M. FASEB<\/em>. (2016). fj.201600450R.
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<\/strong>Senior Research Associate<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/strong>PhD Student – BBSRC NRPDTP<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/strong>PhD Student – BBSRC NRPDTP<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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PhD Student – BigC Cancer Charity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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PhD Student – BBSRC MMBDTP<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/img_1108.jpg\")
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MSc by Research student<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nAlumni<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Dr Roberta Skukan<\/strong>
Dr Aduragbemi Adesina<\/strong>
Samantha D’Asaro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMaster’s students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eman Almototah
2024<\/strong>
Matthew Hammond<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nResearch Project Students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Aaron Stokes<\/strong> – Bacterial mutagenesis
Benjamin Garnham<\/strong> – Detection of m6A modification on RNA<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jamie Bartram – <\/strong>piRNA pathway
Amy Alford <\/strong>– Dauer effects on phenotypes
Helen Ireland – <\/strong>Vitamin B12
Maria Pinar Saenz de Miera – <\/strong>m6A detection<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isabel Potteril<\/strong> – RNA splicing
Haider Bashir<\/strong> – RNA splicing
Paddy McKenna<\/strong> – mutagenesis<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Connor Mccausland<\/strong> – gene expression and B12
William Strevens<\/strong> – gene expression and B12
Alexander Williams<\/strong> – gene expression and B12
Issy Collins<\/strong> – nanopore sequencing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cansin Oztan<\/strong> – gene expression and B12
Jan Prokop<\/strong> – gene expression and B12<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"