Michael Edwards

Position: PhD Student, Department Molecular and Cell Biology, UCT

Michael is a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town where he is part of the Evo-Devo lab under the supervision of Prof. Nicola Illing, Assoc. Prof. Robert Ingle and Prof. Dr. Zoran Nikoloski. He received his Masters from the University of the Witwatersrand with a background in Genetics and Developmental Biology with particular exposure to molecular cloning and gene editing techniques. Michael’s PhD aims to characterise the gene regulatory networks and metabolic pathways which underpin desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Xerophyta elegans. This will be accomplished using a time series of matched RNA and metabolite/lipid samples and will provide insight into the molecular changes in Xerophyta elegans seedlings during both drying and rehydration. His yearlong RESIST secondment will be spent at the University of Potsdam as part of Prof. Dr. Zoran Nikoloski’s research group. During this exchange he will work towards competency in the mathematical modelling techniques necessary for his project.