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Biological and Chemical Sciences

Dr. Elaine Dunleavy

PhD

Contact Details

Senior Lecturer
Room 126 Biochemistry
School of Natural Sciences
Bioresearch Building
University of Galway
E: elaine.dunleavy@universityofgalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

Dr. Elaine Dunleavy is a cell and molecular biologist interested in the regulation of centromeres, key chromosomal loci that oversee proper chromosome segregation during cell division. Dr. Dunleavy graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway with a BSc in Biotechnology in 2002. She received a Wellcome Trust Four Year Studentship to complete her PhD in Life Sciences at the University of Edinburgh in 2007, under the supervision of Prof. Robin Allshire. During her PhD, using fission yeast as a model system, Dr. Dunleavy began to develop her now long-standing interest in centromere biology. She carried out her postdoctoral research at the Curie Institute in Paris in the laboratory of Dr. Genevieve Almouzni, where she identified the key human centromere assembly factor HJURP, a major finding in the field. In 2010, Dr. Dunleavy received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program to investigate centromere assembly mechanisms in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Karpen at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley. In 2013, Dr. Dunleavy was awarded a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow in Basic Biomedical Science, and joined the Centre for Chromosome Biology (CCB) at the University of Galway. At the CCB, Dr. Dunleavy continues to use the fruit fly as an experimental system to explore chromosome segregation mechanisms during meiosis, the special type of cell division that gives rise to gametes (eggs and sperm). She was awarded an SFI President of Ireland Young Researcher Award in 2015 to explore centromere function in germ stem cells. In 2022, Dr. Dunleavy was awarded an SFI Frontiers for the Future Award to continue her research into centromere function in germ cells and early embryogenesis in flies and bovine model systems. 

Research Interests

My research aim is to understand how genome integrity is maintained during cell division. To investigate this aim, I use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and bovine Bos taurus as developmental model systems. Specifically, I am interested in how centromeres, key chromosomal domains that coordinate proper chromosome segregation, are regulated in stem cells and meiosis (the production of gametes). This research is important, as stem cell maintenance is required for tissue homeostasis and regeneration, while errors in meiosis result in aneuploid eggs, sperm and zygotes that can lead to fertility, reproductive and birth defects.

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Mechanisms of centromere assembly and maintenance in germ cells and impacts on cell fate, fertility and early development 01-MAY-22 30-APR-27
Postgraduate Scholarship 2020: Investigating the Transgenerational Inheritance of Centromeres using a Bovine In Vitro Fertilisation Model System 01-OCT-20 30-SEP-29
Epigenetic Mechanisms of Stem Cell Maintenance 01-MAR-15 28-FEB-21

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2023) 'Centromere proteins are asymmetrically distributed between newly divided germline stem and daughter cells and maintain a balanced niche in Drosophila males'
Kochendoerfer AM, Keegan RS, Dunleavy EM (2023) 'Centromere proteins are asymmetrically distributed between newly divided germline stem and daughter cells and maintain a balanced niche in Drosophila males'. Molecular Biology Of The Cell, 1 (34) [Details]
(2022) 'Identification of differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs in spermatozoa of bulls of varying fertility'
Donnellan EM, Perrier J-P, Keogh K, Stiavnicka M, Collins CM, Dunleavy EM, Sellem E, Bernecic NC, Lonergan P, Fair S (2022) 'Identification of differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs in spermatozoa of bulls of varying fertility'. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, [Details]
(2021) 'Centromere function in asymmetric cell division in Drosophila female and male germline stem cells'
Kochendoerfer AM, Modafferi F, Dunleavy EM (2021) 'Centromere function in asymmetric cell division in Drosophila female and male germline stem cells'. Open Biology, [Details]
(2021) 'CENP-C functions in centromere assembly, the maintenance of CENP-A asymmetry and epigenetic age in Drosophila germline stem cells'
Carty BL, Dattoli AA, Dunleavy EM (2021) 'CENP-C functions in centromere assembly, the maintenance of CENP-A asymmetry and epigenetic age in Drosophila germline stem cells'. Plos Genetics, [Details]
(2020) 'Centromere assembly and non-random sister chromatid segregation in stem cells'
Carty BL and Dunleavy EM (2020) 'Centromere assembly and non-random sister chromatid segregation in stem cells'. Essays In Biochemistry: Systems Biology, Vol 45, [Details]
(2020) 'Asymmetric assembly of centromeres epigenetically regulates stem cell fate'
Dattoli, AA;Carty, B;Kochendoerfer, AM;Morgan, C;Walshe, AE;Dunleavy, EM (2020) 'Asymmetric assembly of centromeres epigenetically regulates stem cell fate'. Journal Of Cell Biology, 219 [DOI] [Details]
(2019) 'RNA from a simple-tandem repeat is required for sperm maturation and male fertility in Drosophila melanogaster'
Mills, WK;Lee, YCG;Kochendoerfer, AM;Dunleavy, EM;Karpen, GH (2019) 'RNA from a simple-tandem repeat is required for sperm maturation and male fertility in Drosophila melanogaster'. eLife, 8 [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'ATP synthase F1 subunits recruited to centromeres by CENP-A are required for male meiosis'
Collins CM;Malacrida B;Burke C;Kiely PA;Dunleavy EM; (2018) 'ATP synthase F1 subunits recruited to centromeres by CENP-A are required for male meiosis'. Nature Communications, 9 (1) [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Nucleolar activity and CENP-C regulate CENP-A and CAL1 availability for centromere assembly in meiosis'
Kwenda, L,Collins, CM,Dattoli, AA,Dunleavy, EM (2016) 'Nucleolar activity and CENP-C regulate CENP-A and CAL1 availability for centromere assembly in meiosis'. Development , 143 :1400-1412 [DOI] [Details]
(2013) 'Solo or Doppio: How many CENP-As make a centromeric nucleosome?'
Dunleavy EM, Zhang W, Karpen, GH (2013) 'Solo or Doppio: How many CENP-As make a centromeric nucleosome?'. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, [Details]
(2012) 'The cell cycle timing of centromeric chromatin assembly in Drosophila meiosis is distinct from mitosis yet requires CAL1 and CENP-C'
Dunleavy EM, Beier NL, Gorgescu W, Tang J, Costes SV, Karpen GH (2012) 'The cell cycle timing of centromeric chromatin assembly in Drosophila meiosis is distinct from mitosis yet requires CAL1 and CENP-C'. Plos Biology, [Details]
(2009) 'HJURP is a cell cycle dependent maintenance and deposition factor of CENP-A at centromeres'
Dunleavy EM, Roche D, Tagami H, Lacoste N, Ray-Gallet D, Nakamura Y, Daigo Y, Nakatani Y, Almouzni-Pettinotti, G (2009) 'HJURP is a cell cycle dependent maintenance and deposition factor of CENP-A at centromeres'. Cell, [Details]
(2009) 'Epigenetic inheritance during the cell cycle'
Probst AV*, Dunleavy EM*, Almouzni G (2009) 'Epigenetic inheritance during the cell cycle'. Nature Reviews Genetics, [Details]
(2008) 'A DNA polymerase α accessory protein, Mcl1, is required for propagation of centromeric structures in fission yeast'
Natsume T, Tsutsui Y, Sutani T, Dunleavy EM, Pidoux AL, Iwasaki H, Shirahige K, Allshire RC, Yamao F (2008) 'A DNA polymerase α accessory protein, Mcl1, is required for propagation of centromeric structures in fission yeast'. Plos One, [Details]
(2007) 'A NASP (N1/N2)-related protein, Sim3, binds CENP-A and is required for its deposition at fission yeast centromeres'
Dunleavy EM, Pidoux AL, Monet M, Bonilla C, Richardson W, Hamilton GL, Ekwall K, McLaughlin PJ, Allshire RC (2007) 'A NASP (N1/N2)-related protein, Sim3, binds CENP-A and is required for its deposition at fission yeast centromeres'. Molecular Cell, [Details]
(2005) 'Centromeric chromatin makes its mark'
Dunleavy EM, Pidoux AL, Allshire RC (2005) 'Centromeric chromatin makes its mark'. Trends In Cell Biology, [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2018) 'Imaging and Quantitation of Assembly Dynamics of the Centromeric Histone H3 Variant CENP- A in Drosophila melanogaster Spermatocytes by Immunofluorescence and Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridization (Immuno-FISH)'
Collins, CM,Dunleavy, EM,Orsi, GA,Almouzni, G (2018) 'Imaging and Quantitation of Assembly Dynamics of the Centromeric Histone H3 Variant CENP- A in Drosophila melanogaster Spermatocytes by Immunofluorescence and Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridization (Immuno-FISH)' In: Histone Variants. :327-337 New York: Springer. [DOI] [Details]
(2017) 'Centromere Dynamics in Male and Female Germ Cells'
Dunleavy, EM;Collins, CM (2017) 'Centromere Dynamics in Male and Female Germ Cells' In: Centromeres and Kinetochores. :357-375 BERLIN: SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN. [DOI] [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2014) Structure, Function and Regulation of Centromeres and Kinetochores,
Elaine Dunleavy (2014) EMBO workshop. [Invited Oral Presentation], Structure, Function and Regulation of Centromeres and Kinetochores, Barcelona, Spain , 12-OCT-14 - 19-OCT-12. [Details]
(2013) Drosophila Cell Division Cycle,
Elaine Dunleavy (2013) EMBO workshop. [Invited Oral Presentation], Drosophila Cell Division Cycle, Exeter, UK , 12-SEP-13 - 16-SEP-13. [Details]
(2013) Dynamic Kinetochore Workshop,
Elaine Dunleavy (2013) workshop of junior researchers. [Invited Oral Presentation], Dynamic Kinetochore Workshop, Porto, Portugal , 14-MAY-13 - 19-JAN-14. [Details]
(2012) Bay Area Meiosis Meeting,
Elaine Dunleavy (2012) Specialised meeting on meiosis. [Invited Oral Presentation], Bay Area Meiosis Meeting, University of California Berkeley USA , 28-OCT-12 - 28-OCT-12. [Details]
(2012) Human Frontier Science Program Annual Awardees Meeting,
Elaine Dunleavy (2012) Part of annual postodctoral fellowship report. [Poster Presentation], Human Frontier Science Program Annual Awardees Meeting, South Korea , 01-JUL-12 - 07-JUL-12. [Details]
(2011) Drosophila Research Conference,
Elaine Dunleavy (2011) Annual meeting organised by the Genetics Society of America. [Poster Presentation], Drosophila Research Conference, California, USA , 20-MAR-11 - 25-MAR-11. [Details]
(2011) Research seminar,
Elaine Dunleavy (2011) invited to present my postdoctoral research by Prof. Noel Lowndes and meet with scientists at my Alma Mater. [Invited Lecture], Research seminar, Centre for Chromosome Biology, National University of Ireland, Galway , 23-SEP-11 - 23-SEP-11. [Details]
(2011) Invited seminar,
Elaine Dunleavy (2011) While I was a visiting scientist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, I was invited by Prof. Scott Hawley to give a seminar. [Oral Presentation], Invited seminar, Stowers Institute for Medical Research , 11-MAY-11 - 11-MAY-11. [Details]
(2011) Nuclear Structure and Dynamics,
Elaine Dunleavy (2011) EMBO workshop. [Invited Oral Presentation], Nuclear Structure and Dynamics, France , 04-SEP-11 - 10-SEP-11. [Details]
(2009) American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting,
Elaine Dunleavy (2009) I represented my postdoctoral mentor Dr. Almouzni at her request and gave a research seminar. [Invited Oral Presentation], American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA , 06-APR-09 - 06-APR-09. [Details]
(2008) Dynamic Organisation of Nuclear Function’ Meeting,
Elaine Dunleavy (2008) Selected to present my postdoctoral research at this prestigious and competitive international meeting. [Invited Oral Presentation], Dynamic Organisation of Nuclear Function’ Meeting, Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory (New York, USA , 03-SEP-08 - 09-JAN-08. [Details]
(2008) Epigenome Network of Excellence Annual Meeting,
Elaine Dunleavy (2008) Selected to present my postdoctoral research to a broad audience of European scientists. [Invited Oral Presentation], Epigenome Network of Excellence Annual Meeting, Madrid, Spain , 11-JUN-08 - 15-JUN-08. [Details]

Editorial

  Year Publication
(2013) Solo or doppio: how many CENP-As make a centromeric nucleosome?.
Dunleavy, EM,Zhang, WG,Karpen, GH (2013) Solo or doppio: how many CENP-As make a centromeric nucleosome?. Editorial [DOI] [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2022 Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for the Future Award SFI
2016 NUI Galway President's Award for Research Excellence NUI Galway
2015 SFI President of Ireland Young Researcher Award PIYRA Science Foundation Ireland
2013 Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship Human Frontier Science Program
2013 Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship in Biomedical Science Science Foundation Ireland - Health Research Board - Wellcome Trust
2009 EMBO Short-Term Fellowship European Molecular Biology Organisation
2009 Journal of Cell Science Travel Award Journal of Cell Science
2002 Wellcome Trust 4 Year PhD Studentship Wellcome Trust

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
JEDI - Junior European Drosophila Investigators Members share ideas, data, expertise and resources. 01-OCT-12 /
AcademiaNet Expert Database of Outstanding Female Scientists and Scholars 01-DEC-13 /
Genetics Society of America Community of 5,000 scientisits commited to deepening our understanding of the living world through advancements in genetics. 01-JAN-10 /
British Society for Cell Biology Member 01-JAN-16 /
All Ireland Chromatin Consortium Organising Committee 01-MAY-21 /
Irish Association for Cancer Research member 01-JAN-20 /

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2007 University of Edinburgh PhD Genetics
2002 NUI Galway BSc Biotechnology

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Outreach Galway Science and Technology Festival 24-NOV-13 / 24-NOV-13

Teaching Interests

I teach 1st and 2nd years modules on Genetics & Genomics as part of the new BSc in Genetics and Genomics (launched in 2020). 
I also contribute a series of lectures on Meiosis as part of a 4th year Biochemistry module 'Advanced Chromosome Biology'.
I coordinate 4th year Biochemistry module 'Literature Review and Poster Presentation. 




 
 
 

Recent Postgraduate Students

  Graduation Name Degree Primary Supervisor
2018 Annie Walshe MASTERS OF SCIENCE Y
2021 Ben Carty PhD Y
2018 Caitriona Collins PhD Y
2018 Conall Morgan MASTERS OF SCIENCE Y
2018 Lucretia Kwenda PhD Y

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
4th Year Biochemistry Literature Review & Poster Presentation BI447 A course in scientific writing and presentation based on mentored research in the scientific literature. This module is focused on development of skills in critical analysis, structured research, synthesis of narrative and ideas, writing and presentation.
4th Year Biochemistry Advanced Chromosome Biology BI429 Advanced topics in genetics covered in this lecture series, supported by the primary literature include: Inherited patterns of gene expression and genome organisation, responding to DNA damage & cancer biology and meiosis.
1st Year Genetics and Genomics Introduction to Genetics and Genomics BI1101 The module aims to introduce students to core concepts in biological systems that are fundamental to understanding genetics and genomics. Students will learn about classical genetics and the molecular mechanisms that underpin modern genetics, as well as techniques responsible for the current genetic revolution.
2nd Year Genetics and Genomics Genetics and Genomics II BI2101 The module builds upon on the core concepts in biological systems that are fundamental to the understanding of genetics and genomics, which students began to explore and investigate in Year 1 of the BSc in Genetics and Genomics (BI1101).