Nicolina Sekulic is the group leader of the Sekulic Group. The group works with modern biophysical methods and structural biology to further our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ‘shugoshins’ (Japanese for ‘guardians’), and their role in ensuring that our chromosomes are divided equally during cell division.
Cell replication
On average, one hundred billion cells divide in our body every day. Throughout this division and replication, our cells will each retain the same number of chromosomes, with genes faithfully carrying our genetic code. The group’s research is helping to build a better picture of what exactly keeps our genome safe throughout this process.
The research will also help with further understanding the basic mechanisms that underlie how genetic information is maintained through division and duplication as well as the processes that lead to cancer. These findings will hopefully provide possible new avenues for fighting the disease.
Sekulic, who has been a Group Leader at NCMM since January 2016, commented;
“I’m so pleased to have received this Young Talent award. It will help enormously with building up my research at NCMM and, ultimately, will help us to contribute towards a better understanding of basic processes underlying the maintenance of genetic information through generations. I also hope this research will contribute to a more thorough understanding of the processes leading to cancer, and provide possible new avenues for fighting it.”
Read more about the Sekulic group.