SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D. Oregon Health and Sciences University (2011)
started in the lab Sept, 2011

Research Interests

I am investigating the role of the Drosophila BLM protein in the early embryo. BLM is a DNA helicase that acts to prevent mitotic crossover and can resolve problematic replication forks during DNA replication. BLM is essential in early embryonic development; there is a requirement for maternally loaded BLM prior to the start of zygotic transcription. Therefore, BLM mutant females have a high rate of sterility and the embryos from these mutant mothers show severe nuclear defects. I am exploring whether BLM functions to prevent replication fork problems during the rapid DNA replication cycles in the early Drosophila embryo.

Additionally, I am a SPIRE Postdoctoral Scholar and am teaching courses at North Carolina Central University in Introductory Biology and a special topics course on Model Systems in Biomedical and Cancer Research as a part of the SPIRE Fellowship training program.

You can find out more information on my personal webpage, my SPIRE fellow page and my Google Scholar page.

Publications from research in the Sekelsky Lab

• M.C. LaFave, S.L. Andersen, E.P. Stoffregen, J.K. Holsclaw, K.P. Kohl, L.J. Overton, and J. Sekelsky (2013) Sources and structures of mitotic crossovers that arise when BLM helicase is absent in Drosophila. Genetics (in press).
   

Awards

• DeLill Nasser Award from the Genetics Society of America (2013).
• SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011-2014).
• Postdoctoral Scholar Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduates (2012).