Dr Sara Lopez-Gomollon

My fundamental question is 'how are genes regulated?'. In my PhD at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), I studied transcription factors in cyanobacteria, followed by postdoctoral research on plant miRNAs with Professor Tamas Dalmay at the University of East Anglia and other small (s)RNAs with Professor Sir David Baulcombe at the University of Cambridge. 

In 2019, I was awarded a Broodbank Research Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. In my research investigating how plants adapt to hybridisation and the genome shock associated, we discovered a novel mechanism that associates regulatory sRNAs with a type of transposable elements, and these with regulation of gene expression that can be related to those different phenotypes that are present in hybrids. 

I joined the University of Kent in 2023. My group focuses on gene regulation in response to the environment and the molecular mechanisms behind it.

At the Plant RNA Biology Group, we are fascinated by how plants sense, remember and respond to the world around them. Our research explores the fundamental mechanisms that control gene expression, with a particular focus on small RNAs and epigenetic regulation. By understanding these core biological processes, we can address questions with broad implications for agriculture, biotechnology, human health and environmental sustainability.

Our research includes:

• Plant antiviral defence
  We investigate how plants recognise and silence viruses, and how small RNAs help protect the genome against viral infections and endogenous viral elements.
• Plant plasticity and adaptation
  We study how hybridisation and epigenetic regulation influence plant plasticity, adaptation and the generation of new traits.
• Sustainable agriculture
  We explore how knowledge of gene regulation can be used to develop crops that are more resilient, productive and sustainable in a changing climate.
• Plant biotechnology for human health
  We develop biotechnological approaches to increase the production of valuable plant-derived molecules with anticancer potential, helping to translate discoveries in plant biology into future medicines.
• Plants in space
  We investigate how plants respond to space-related conditions and how they can be grown efficiently to support future long-term space exploration and habitation.

Using a combination of molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics and genome editing technologies, we aim to uncover the molecular mechanisms that allow plants to adapt to changing environments. Although our research is driven by fundamental biological questions, the knowledge we generate has the potential to contribute to more resilient crops, sustainable agriculture, innovative biotechnology and future medicines.If you are curious about how plants work, enjoy asking big biological questions, and would like to contribute to research with real-world impact, we'd love to hear from you.

• BIOS5520 - Plant Biology - (Module Convenor)
• BIOS5550 - Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation
• BIOS7001 - Molecular Biology, Genome Editing and Sequencing
  
• BIOS7003 - Advanced Research Skills in Biomedicine
• BIOS7004 - Advanced Research Skills in Infectious Diseases
• BIOS7005 - Advanced Research Skills in Biotechnology
• BIOS7011 - Cutting Edge Research Developments in Biotechnology

Our lab is open to new members! Contact me if you are interested in being part of it.