Post-doctoral Fellow
ThomasDixonMcDougall

I am working to identify factors that can be used to wind back the epigenetic clock in aged and senescent cells. The erosion of epigenetic information over time is thought to be a primary cause of the reduction in function associated with age. To combat this erosion, I am investigating options for reactivating the epigenetic writing pathways that establish cell identity. To do this I am focused on establishing high-throughput screens of bioactive compounds and interfering RNA to identify novel factors that can contribute to cellular reprogramming in old and senescent cells. In addition, I am investigating how the regulation of specific long non-coding RNAs can be utilized to restore epigenetic programing. Prior to studying aging, I completed my PhD in 2020 at the University of British Columbia studying the mechanisms governing chromatin remodelling and transcriptional silencing established by the long non-coding RNA, XIST.