University of Otago

Faculty Host: Bruce Draper
Faculty Host Contact: bwdraper@ucdavis.edu

Julia Horsfield from Dunedin will use single-cell sequencing to research how cell fate decisions are controlled in the zebrafish animal model at the University of California, Davis and the University of California, Irvine in California.

Julia graduated with a BSc (Hon, First Class) in Biochemistry from Victoria University of Wellington in 1988, and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Otago in 1995.

Julia is a Professor and the Director of Genetics Otago at the University of Otago in Dunedin. She studies the role of chromosome structure in embryo development and cancer.  The organization of DNA within the nucleus has a strong influence on gene expression and the specification of cell types in metazoans.  The overall goal of Julia’s research is to understand chromatin mechanisms contributing to gene expression in development, epigenetic inheritance, and cancer, using cancer cell lines and the exemplary animal model, the zebrafish.

Last updated: 2019