Dr. Jane Mellor

Biography

Jane Mellor is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Her research interests revolve around chromatin remodeling, gene regulation, and metabolic states of eukaryotic cells, particularly in relation to their impact on phenotype. She conducts her work primarily in the yeast model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in mammalian cell cultures. Notably, her studies aim to determine how the metabolic state of a cell can influence chromatin transcription and chromosome conformation, and how these differences correlate with cellular phenotypes. Through synchronized growth of yeast, Mellor investigates the metabolic cycle and how transcript levels fluctuate in relation to growth and quiescence. Her research contributes significant insights into gene expression dynamics and cellular aging. In collaboration with local biotech company Oxford Biodynamics, she has worked on developing EpiSwitch™ technology to detect chromosome conformations that relate to metabolism and chromatin transcription. This innovative approach aims to determine how these factors combine to affect the phenotype of cells, especially in the context of disease response and treatment.

Research Interests