Aleksandra Pękowska

Instytut Biologii Doswiadczalnej im Marcelego Nenckiego (NENCKI Institute of Experimental Biology)

Biosketch

I graduated from the University of Lodz (biology, spec. biophysics) in 2006. For my Ph.D., I joined Dr Pierre Ferrier’s lab (CIML, Marseilles), we discovered chromatin signatures of active enhancers (Pękowska A. et al., 2011, EMBO J) and tissue specific genes (Pękowska A. et al., 2010 Genome Res.). In 2011, I joined the group of Dr Wolfgang Huber (EMBL, Heidelberg). We found that loss of pluripotency coincides with a gain of chromatin loops (Pękowska et al., 2018 Cell Systems). In 2016, I joined the team of Dr Rafael Casellas (NIAMS/NIH, Bethesda). We described a unique chromatin structure linked to the control of gene expression (Vian L.#, Pękowska A.# et al., 2018 Cell). In 2019, I opened the Dioscuri Center of Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS. We combine ‘omics’ tools, CRISPR-Cas9, and stem cell models to understand the genetic bases of astrocyte functions and the implication of genome topology in transcriptional regulation.

Selected publications

1. Dunski M., Pękowska A., Keeping the balance: trade-offs between human brain evolution, autism, and schizophrenia. Frontiers in Genetics (Accepted)
2. Dehingia B. Milewska M., Janowski M., Pękowska A. CTCF shapes chromatin structure and gene expression in health and disease (Review). EMBO Reports. 2022 Sept Sep 5;23(9)
3. Pękowska A.*., Klaus B, Xiang W., Severino J., Daigle N., Klein F.A., Oleś M., Casellas R., Ellenberg J., Steinmetz L.M.S., Bertone P. * and Huber W.* Gain of CTCF-anchored chromatin loops marks the exit from naive pluripotency. Cell Systems Nov. 28; 7(5):482-495
4. Vian L.#, Pękowska A.#, Rao SSR.#, Kieffer-Kwon K-R#, Jung S#, Baranello L., Huang SC., El Khattabi L., Dose M., Pruett N., Sanborn AL., Canela A., Maman Y., Oksanen A., Resch W., Li X., Lee B., Kovalchuk AL., Tang Z., Nelson S., Di Pierro M., Cheng RR., Machol I., St Hilaire BG., Durand NC., Shamim MS., Stamenova EK., Onuchic JN., Ruan Y., Nussenzweig A., Levens D., Aiden EL., Casellas R. The energetics and physiological impact of cohesin extrusion. Cell 2018 May 17;173(5):1165- 1178.e20. (# co-first)
5. Schwarzer W.#, Abdennur N.#, Goloborodko A.#, Pękowska A., Fudenberg G., Loe-Mie Y., Fonseca N.A., Huber W, Haering C., Mirny L., Spitz F. Two independent modes of chromosome organization are revealed by cohesin removal. Nature 2017 Nov 2;551(7678):51-56

Institute description

The NENCKI Institute is the largest non-university biological research center in Poland. The Institute currently employs over 350 people (including 130 scientists) and educates over 160 PhD students. The Institute’s mission is to decipher the mechanisms and develop new therapies and diagnostic methods for cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, neurological disorders, and other civilization diseases. In addition to basic biological research, Nencki provides expertise in the field of translational research, including pre-clinical research.

Web site: https://www.nencki.edu.pl/pl/