Research interests
Unlike most eusocial insects with definitive caste boundaries, the ponerine ant species Harpegnathos saltator has a highly plastic caste system, where workers possess the capability to transition into a dominant reproductive queen-like state during their adulthood. Previous evidence demonstrated that this behavioural switch is accompanied by drastic brain remodelling, providing a fascinating model to investigate the links between gene regulation, brain function, and social behaviour. I am interested in how neuroepigenetic events, including changes in chromatin accessibility and histone modifications, contribute to adult brain plasticity. My PhD work leverages high-throughput genomic methods to interrogate chromatin structure at single-cell resolution to reveal caste-biased events responsible for distinctive brain functions.
