Zoe Elizabeth Gillespie

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Post Doctoral Fellow at University of Toronto

Estrogen (E2) regulates the differentiation and proliferation of mammary progenitor cells by modulating the transcription of multiple genes. One of the genes that is downregulated by E2 is SOX2, a transcription factor associated with stem and progenitor cells that is overexpressed during breast tumourigenesis. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying...

Sex-determining region Y box 2 (Sox2) is a critical transcription factor for embryogenesis and neural stem and progenitor cell (NSPC) maintenance. While distal enhancers control Sox2 in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), enhancers closer to the gene are implicated in Sox2 transcriptional regulation in neural development. We hypothesize that a downstream...

Embryonic development depends on spatially and temporally orchestrated gene regulatory networks. Expressed in neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs), the transcription factor sex-determining region Y box 2 (Sox2) is critical for embryogenesis and stem cell maintenance in neural development. Whereas the enhancers of Sox2 are well defined in early...

Like humans, canine lymphomas are treated by chemotherapy cocktails and frequently develop multiple drug resistance (MDR). Their shortened clinical timelines and tumor accessibility make canines excellent models to study MDR mechanisms. Insulin-sensitizers have been shown to reduce the incidence of cancer in humans prescribed them, and we previousl...

How distal regulatory elements control gene transcription and chromatin topology is not clearly defined, yet these processes are closely linked in lineage specification during development. Through allele-specific genome editing and chromatin interaction analyses of the Sox2 locus in mouse embryonic stem cells, we found a striking disconnection betw...

It is generally accepted that dietary phenolics from fruits are of significant importance to human health. Unfortunately, there is minimal published data on how differences in phenolic structure(s) impact biological pathways at cellular and molecular levels. We observed that haskap berry extracts isolated with ethanol:formic acid:water or phenolic...

Caloric restriction (CR), the reduction of caloric intake without inducing malnutrition, is the most reproducible method of extending health and lifespan across numerous organisms, including humans. However, with nearly one-third of the world’s population overweight, it is obvious that caloric restriction approaches are difficult for individuals to...

Cellular health is reliant on proteostasis—the maintenance of protein levels regulated through multiple pathways modulating protein synthesis, degradation and clearance. Loss of proteostasis results in serious disease and is associated with aging. One proteinaceous structure underlying the nuclear envelope—the nuclear lamina—coordinates essential p...

Like humans, canine companions sponteaneouly develop lymphomas that are treated by a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs. However, canines have high rates of developing multiple drug resistance (MDR), shortened clinical timelines and easy tumor accessibility, making them excellent models to study MDR mechanisms. Previously, we used in vitro cell models...

We previously demonstrated that genome reorganization, through chromosome territory repositioning, occurs concurrently with significant changes in gene expression in normal primary human fibroblasts treated with the drug rapamycin, or stimulated into quiescence. Although these events occurred concomitantly, it is unclear how specific changes in gen...

The 40th International Asilomar Chromatin, Chromosomes, and Epigenetics Conference was held in the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, USA, on 6–9 December 2018. The organizing committee consisted of established scientists in the fields of chromatin and epigenetics: Sally Pasion and Michael Goldman from the Biology Department, S...

Metformin is a widely-used treatment for type 2 diabetes and is reported to extend health and lifespan as a caloric restriction (CR) mimetic. Although the benefits of metformin are well documented, the impact of this compound on the function and organization of the genome in normal tissues is unclear. To explore this impact, primary human fibroblas...

Caloric restriction (CR), defined as decreased nutrient intake without causing malnutrition, has been documented to increase both health and lifespan across numerous organisms, including humans. Many drugs and other compounds naturally occurring in our diet (nutraceuticals) have been postulated to act as mimetics of caloric restriction, leading to...

Background: Rapamycin is well-known inhibitor of the Target of Rapamycin signalling cascade and is currently used clinically as an immunosuppressant. The effects of rapamycin have been extensively studied in various model organisms, but the global effects it has on gene expression in normal human primary cells remains unclear. Objective: Identify t...

Rapamycin is a well-known inhibitor of the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signalling cascade; however, the impact of this drug on global genome function and organization in normal primary cells is poorly understood. To explore this impact, we treated primary human foreskin fibroblasts with rapamycin and observed a decrease in cell proliferation without...

DNA microarrays and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) are major technologies for performing high-throughput analysis of transcript abundance. Recently, concerns have been raised regarding the concordance of data derived from the two techniques. Using cDNA libraries derived from normal human foreskin fibroblasts, we measured changes in transcript abundance a...

Background: Rapamycin is an immunosurpressant drug that is currently used to prevent transplant rejection after organ donation. Additionally, it has been shown to prolong lifespan in various model organisms and has potential therapeutic uses in the treatment of certain cancers and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. Within the cell, rapamycin act...

Background: Rapamycin is an immunosurpressant drug that is currently used to prevent transplant rejection after organ donation. Additionally, it has been shown to prolong lifespan in various model organisms and has potential therapeutic uses in the treatment of certain cancers and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. Within the cell, rapamycin act...

Background: Rapamycin is an immunosuppressant drug that is currently used to prevent transplant rejection after organ donation. Additionally, it has been shown to prolong lifespan in various model organisms and has potential therapeutic uses in the treatment of certain cancers and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. Within the cell, rapamycin act...