How are kinetochores, cohesin and pericentromeric chromatin modified during chromosome segregation in meiosis?

Interested individuals must follow Steps 1, 2 and 3 at this link on how to apply
http://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/prospective-students/postgraduate/pgr/how-to-apply

We are studying the molecular mechanisms that ensure the accurate segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Errors in chromosome segregation produce cells with too few or too many chromosomes, a condition known as aneuploidy, which in humans is associated with cancer and causes infertility and birth defects, such as Down’s syndrome. Mitosis is the cell division that makes gives rise to daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes the parental cell. Meiosis is a modified cell division, which produces gametes with half the genetic content of the parental cell. This project aims to understand specializations to the chromosome segregation machinery during meiosis that ensure the production of gametes with the correct chromosome number.

The student will focus on meiosis-specific modifications to the chromosome segregation machinery during meiosis. Proteomic techniques will be employed to identify modifications that occur during meiosis. Specific mutations will be engineered using sophisticated genetic techniques, including CRISPR. Functional analysis will be performed using advanced microscopy techniques, including live cell and single molecule imaging methods.


Further Information:
http://marston.bio.ed.ac.uk/