Geraldine is part of the Open Targets network to study gene function in neurological disease models. She will investigate phenotypic changes in stem cell-derived neurons after gene loss using targeted CRISPR knockout screens and identify key players in neuronal fitness.
Geraldine completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried (near Munich) with Dr. Danny Nedialkova, where she studied protein synthesis in different human cellular contexts. She established workflows to differentiate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) into neuronal and cardiac lineages and to perform CRISPR interference screens. In this way, she investigated the context-dependent essentiality and function of the human translational machinery in stem cell-derived models.
One focus of her research is on functional genetics, in particular the context-specific function of genes. The combination of stem cell-based models with high-throughput sequencing approaches creates a powerful tool for understanding gene function in different cellular contexts with the same genetic background. For Geraldine, complementing sequencing approaches with intelligently designed cell biology and biochemical assays to explore potential causes of disease occurrence is very important.