Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

Profile

In 2001, Rhiannon graduated from the University of Durham with a BSc (Hons) in Ecology. She then went on to complete a PhD in the Mitochondrial & Reproductive Genetics Group with Dr Justin St. John at the University of Birmingham investigating the regulation and developmental consequences of abnormal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transmission patterns in embryos generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer  (‘cloning’).

Subsequently, between 2005 and 2009, Rhiannon joined Prof. Bill Holt’s Reproductive Biology Group at the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London, ZSL) as a post-doc, conducting research into the biology of sperm storage within the female reproductive tract, aiming to identify factors isolated from the sheep oviduct capable of prolonging the notoriously short shelf-life of ram spermatozoa when stored for artificial insemination practises.

While applying for research funding, she undertook a further post-doc in the Wildlife Epidemiology Group at the Institute of Zoology (headed by Prof. Andrew Cunningham) and developed an environmental DNA detection method for North American bullfrogs (a harmful invasive species known to drive amphibian population declines the world over).  

During the period 2009 to 2011, while still at the Institute of Zoology, Rhiannon was awarded a prestigious Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellowship to develop a tool for predicting how non-synonymous substitutions in mtDNA-protein coding genes influence embryo development following inter-species nuclear transfer and to establish Xenopus (the laboratory frog) as a model for validating predictions made by the tool. She did this in collaboration with researchers in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth. Rhiannon then joined the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth in 2011 for a 10 month fixed term lectureship position.

Rhiannon is currently a Research Fellow, funded by the charity Brain Tumour Research in the Neuro-oncology Research laboratories leading investigations into the mitogenomic aspects of brain tumourigenesis, progression and chemosensitivity. She is currently second supervisor to one PhD student: Miss Kathleen Keatley, funded by Headcase Cancer Trust.

Research Interests

• Mitogenomics in human and animal health and disease.
• Assisted reproductive technologies.
• Genome resource banking.

Current Collaborators

• Dr John McGeehan, Reader in Structural Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth.
• Dr Tim Littlewood, Head of Parasites and Vectors Division, Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London.

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Invited Talks

2012                                      

• “Frozen Ark Project Overview & Putting Amphibians in the Ark” presented at the Reptile and Amphibian Working Group Meeting, West Midlands Safari Park, Kidderminster, UK.
• “Amphibian cryobanking and associated advanced reproductive techniques” presented at the World Congress of Herpetology, Vancouver, Canada.
• “Structural Classification of Mutations Reveals the Role of Nuclear-Mitochondrial Incompatibility in Human Disease” presented at The Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Science Day, Portsmouth, UK.

2011                                      

• “Biobanked amphibian samples confirmed to species level using 16S rRNA DNA barcodes” presented at the Europe, Middle East and Africa Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) Inaugural Conference, Marseille, France.
•  “Current Global Biobanking Activities for Amphibian Conservation: Where we are and where to go” presented at the SEH European Congress of Herpetology & DGHT Deutscher Herpetologentag, Luxembourg.
• “Safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease: lessons from non-human animal nuclear transfer and human mitochondrial DNA haplotype analyses” presented to the core scientific review panel established by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) on behalf of the Secretary of State, HFEA, London, UK.

2008                                      

• “Assisted Reproduction Techniques and Gene Banking for Amphibian Conservation, Hope and Reality” presented at the international “Halting the global decline in amphibians: research and practice” symposium, Zoological Society of London, UK.

2007                                      

• “You do what???!!! Life as a postdoctoral research assistant at the Institute of Zoology” presented at The British Andrology Society annual meeting, GlaxoSmithKline, Ware, UK.
• “The development of long-life extenders for fresh semen using proteins present in the oviduct” presented at the opening symposium of the EU-Asia Link funded “Managing the health and reproduction of elephant populations in Asia” project, University of Kasetsart, Bangkok, Thailand.

Research Grants / Awards

2012                                      

• Research Development Fund Award for the “Identification of functional mitochondrial DNA mutations in human brain tumours using a novel 3D structural modelling approach”, £22,643 (co-applicant).

2010                                      

• Sponsorship for the “Towards a Biobanking Strategy for Amphibian Conservation” workshop, £6,614 (co-applicant).
• Stipend for the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory “Xenopus Cell and Developmental Biology” course, $1,350.

2009                                      

• Sponsorship for the British Andrology Society’s annual meeting “Young Researcher Oral Communications” session, £300.
• Sponsorship for the “Impacts of Environmental Change on Reproduction and Development in Wildlife” symposium £3,250 (co-applicant).
• Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship Award for investigating “Is the secret of a good hybrid nuclear-mtDNA cooperation?”, £54,463.

2008                                      

• Travel grant from The British Andrology Society, £250.
• Travel grant from The Society for Reproduction and Fertility, £350.

2007                                      

• EU-Asia Link grant for the “The Elephas Maximus 2007-2010 Project: “Managing the health and reproduction of elephant populations in Asia”, €800,000 (Institute of Zoology co-representative).

2006                                      

• Travel grant from The Royal Society, £1,770.

2003                                      

• Travel grant from The Society for Reproduction and Fertility, £300.
• Travel grant from The University of Birmingham, £400.

In the News

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22493-brazil-aims-to-clone-endangered-animals.html [November 2012]

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-19/national/35505449_1_pyrenean-ibex-gaur-extinct-species [November 2012]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-19064531 [July 2012]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16112-conservationists-plan-doomsday-vault-for-frog-sperm.html [November 2008]

http://www.economist.com/node/8314063?story_id=8314063&CFID=7017237&CFTOKEN=93353903 [November 2006]

Other interests

Running, swimming, cycling, travel and amphibians