EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship for Sara Wighard
The fellowship will support Sara Wighard’s postdoctoral research investigating how selfish genetic elements contribute to biological innovation. Selfish genetic elements are genetic parasites that replicate and move within the host’s genome, potentially disrupting the genome’s integrity. To ensure their transmission to the next generation, selfish elements seek to insert themselves into the genome of germline cells. However, defense systems comprised of small RNAs and proteins defend the genome against such threats, detecting and silencing selfish elements to preserve DNA integrity.
With selfish genetic elements and the host genome pitted against each other, an arms race unfolds in the germline, in which selfish elements and genome defense mechanisms continuously adapt to outcompete one another. This arms race represents an opportunity for biological innovation: Selfish elements can reshape genome architecture and provide new genetic material, while adaptations in genome defense can catalyze the development of new molecular mechanisms, such as the evolution of adaptive immunity in prokaryotes and vertebrates.
In her project, Sara Wighard, a postdoc in the group of Alejandro Burga, will use nematode models to study how selfish elements influence the host genome. “Using genetic and phylogenetic approaches, I will investigate how newly introduced selfish elements affect genome architecture and gene regulation, and how the genome defense machinery responds,” Wighard explained.
Ultimately, Wighard’s project aims to deepen our understanding of the conflict between selfish elements and their hosts, shedding light on the role that selfish elements play in driving evolutionary innovation. Insights into nematode defense mechanisms could inform strategies to combat human and plant-parasitic nematodes.
During her PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Wighard studied the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in nematodes. In 2024, Wighard joined the lab of Alejandro Burga at IMBA as a postdoctoral researcher.
“I’m grateful for the support by EMBO, which will support me in developing an independent research line to pursue the questions that I’m interested in,” Wighard says. “Being a part of the EMBO postdoctoral network will also allow me to network with other fellows and establish my research.”
EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships support excellent postdoctoral researchers throughout Europe and the world for a period of up to two years. The selection process is very competitive, with under 15% of applications being selected. The fellowship includes a salary or stipend, a relocation allowance and support for fellows with children. Awardees can attend an EMBO Laboratory Leadership course and become part of the global network of EMBO Fellows.