Zihan Meng

I am a graduate student in Sharon Bickel's lab in the Biological Sciences department. I received my B.S. in Cell Biology from University of California, Davis, in 2019. In Bickel lab, we study the maternal age effect that describes the dramatic increase of meiotic chromosome missegregation and pregnancy complications as women age. Using Drosophila as my model organism, my project focuses on investigating the mechanisms by which oxidative damage accumulation and metabolic changes lead to inaccurate chromosome segregation during aging. Furthermore, my project also involves testing whether nutritional supplementation of small molecule activators of sirtuins, a family of NAD+ deacetylase, will suppress the age-dependent chromosome segregation errors in Drosophila oocyte. These studies can provide insight into potential future therapeutic strategies. Outside lab, I also enjoy cooking, video gaming, and watching cute kitten videos.