Current Member - Dr. Aristophanes Stephen Georgiou
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Aristophanes Stephen Georgiou
Details
Name: Dr. Aristophanes Stephen Georgiou
Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Email: aristophanes.georgiou@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Autobiography
Everyone knows me by my middle name, Stephen. In 2002, as a PhD student at the University of Sheffield, I began investigating the biology of reproduction. I developed a keen interest in the role of the female reproductive tract in key reproductive events, such as sperm transport, fertilisation and early embryonic development. In 2007, I pursued a post-doc working on the genetic (and epigenetic) control of embryogenesis at the MRC Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics at the University of Sheffield. In 2010 I moved to Oxford as a NERC funded post-doc on a project investigating the role of the female immune system in sperm selection.
Research Activities
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The role of the female reproductive tract in reproduction. During my PhD I demonstrated that arrival of spermatozoa or oocytes into the mammalian female reproductive tract during mating alters the tract's molecular phenotype. The female tract regulates gene expression and the secretion of a wide variety of proteins in response to either gamete. This data lead to the formulation of the hypothesis that responsiveness of the tract to gametes facilitates reproductive success by provision of specific micro-environments that are conducive to fertilisation and development of the early embryo. |
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Embryo development. I have long-been fascinated by early embryonic development, and how a single, lone cell arising from fertilisation can give rise to the trillions of cells that comprise a living animal. A key feature of embryonic development is cellular differentiation: the progressive and selective restriction in the developmental potential of the cells which constitute the embryo. While differentiation involves changes to gene expression, this is rarely the result of changes to the DNA sequence, but rather epigenetic changes. I have worked on elucidating epigenetic mechanisms that control CNS development during zebrafish embryogenesis. |
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Female sperm selection. In many sexually reproducing organisms females receive ejaculates from multiple males. The female reproductive tract can bias sperm fertilisation success in the favour of the more biologically 'attractive' male post-copulation, providing a potential method for driving sexual selection and evolutionary adaptation within a species. At present, the molecular mechanisms governing female sperm selection are not understood. There is some data to support the involvement of immune system, and ultimately my current research aims to investigate the role of female immunity in sperm selection and fertilisation bias. |
Selected Papers
Reinhardt K, Wong CH, Georgiou AS. Detection of seminal fluid proteins in the bed bug, Cimex lectularius, using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Parasitology 2009 Mar;136(3):283-92
Elliott RM, Lloyd RE, Fazeli A, Sostaric E, Georgiou AS, Satake N, Watson PF, Holt WV. Effects of HSPA8, an evolutionarily conserved oviductal protein, on boar and bull spermatozoa. Reproduction 2009 Feb;137(2):191-203
Seytanoglu A, Georgiou AS, Sostaric E, Watson PF, Holt WV, Fazeli A. Oviductal cell proteome alterations during the reproductive cycle in pigs. J Proteome Res 2008 Jul;7(7):2825-33
Georgiou AS, Snijders AP, Sostaric E, Aflatoonian R, Vazquez JL, Vazquez JM, Roca J, Martinez EA, Wright PC, Fazeli A. Modulation of the oviductal environment by gametes. J Proteome Res 2007 Dec;6(12):4656-66
Sostaric E, Georgiou AS, Wong CH, Watson PF, Holt WV, Fazeli A. Global profiling of surface plasma membrane proteome of oviductal epithelial cells. J Proteome Res 2006 Nov;5(11):3029-37
Holt WV, Elliott RM, Fazeli A, Sostaric E, Georgiou AS, Satake N, Prathalingam N, Watson PF. Harnessing the biology of the oviduct for the benefit of artificial insemination. Soc Reprod Fertil Suppl. 2006;62:247-59.
Fairburn B, Muthana M, Hopkinson K, Slack LK, Mirza S, Georgiou AS, Espigares E, Wong C, Pockley AG. Analysis of purified gp96 preparations from rat and mouse livers using 2-D gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry. Biochimie 2006 Sep;88(9):1165-74
Georgiou AS, Sostaric E, Wong CH, Snijders AP, Wright PC, Moore HD, Fazeli A. Gametes alter the oviductal secretory proteome. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2005 Nov;4(11):1785-96
