Dr. Maria Christophorou

Biography

Maria Christophorou is a researcher at the Babraham Institute, specializing in biochemical regulation and epigenetic factors. Originally from Cyprus, she studied Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Fulbright Scholar, before beginning her research career at the Whitehead Institute and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics. She earned her PhD at the University of California, San Francisco, investigating the role of p53 in tumor suppression using mouse models. After a decade of research at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, she established her independent research career at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, where she received the Sir Henry Dale Fellowship. In 2020, she became part of the Epigenetics Department at the Babraham Institute. Her research focuses on understanding how developmental cues and cellular stresses translate into epigenetic changes, particularly through the role of peptidylarginine deiminase enzymes in protein citrullination. She employs various approaches in biochemistry and molecular biology to uncover mechanisms that regulate epigenetic factors, with significant implications for diseases such as autoimmunity and cancer.

Research Interests

Experience