Muhammad Abdul Haseeb

Premature loss of sister chromatid cohesion during the meiotic arrest in human oocytes is a major contributor to the maternal age effect, a phenomenon in which the probability of an aneuploid pregnancy increases as a woman ages. Our laboratory has previously uncovered evidence for a cohesion rejuvenation program in Drosophila oocytes that operates during prophase, after cohesive linkages are originally established during S phase. My research revolves around understanding the mechanism of cohesion rejuvenation that ensures accurate chromosome segregation and formation of euploid gametes in fruit fly ovaries. Fruit flies are fun little bugs that provide a well-equipped model system to study behavior of chromosomes during female meiosis. Our lab's work has the potential to expand our understanding of the factors that contribute to the maternal age effect in humans.