{"691034":{"#nid":"691034","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Ruiqiao Yang","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Biology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERuiqiao Yang\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWill defend her dissertation\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EROLE OF H1 LINKER HISTONES IN GASTRULOID DEVELOPMENT\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETime and Date: 1:00PM (Eastern Time), July 9th, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELocation: IBB 2316\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYuhong Fan, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMirjana M. Brockett, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrancesca Storici, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERabindranath De La Fuente, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUniversity of Georgia\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJiyue Zhu, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Washington State University\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EABSTRACT: H1 Linker histones are key chromatin proteins that bind to nucleosomes and linker DNA, facilitating the folding of higher-order chromatin structures. Linker histone H1 is essential for mammalian embryogenesis, and its depletion has been shown to impair embryonic stem cell differentiation. To dissect the role of H1 histones in coordinating developmental programs during embryogenesis, we first optimized a protocol for generating gastruloids, an in vitro 3D organoid model of gastrulation, from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). By modeling gastruloid development and leveraging H1c\/H1d\/H1e triple-knockout (H1 TKO) ESCs, we investigated how H1 regulates developmental patterning and programming. Compared with wild-type gastruloids, H1 TKO gastruloids exhibited markedly impaired growth and temporal patterning and lacked clear axial organization and beating cardiomyocytes. Transcriptomic analysis of gastruloids by RNA sequencing revealed extensive changes in gene expression, with enrichment in multiple developmental programs and signaling processes, including myogenesis, epithelial\u2013mesenchymal transition, hypoxia, glycolysis, and other signaling pathways. H1 depletion resulted in the dysregulation of genes associated with diverse developmental processes, including morphogenesis, muscle and heart development, nervous system development, and chromosome organization. These results demonstrate that H1 is required for the proper activation of multiple developmental programs during gastruloid formation and underscore the essential role of H1 in coordinating cell differentiation, migration, and morphogenesis during embryogenesis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EROLE OF H1 LINKER HISTONES IN GASTRULOID DEVELOPMENT\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ROLE OF H1 LINKER HISTONES IN GASTRULOID DEVELOPMENT"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-07-06 13:14:51","changed_gmt":"2026-07-06 13:15:29","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-07-09T13:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-07-09T15:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-07-09T15:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-07-09 17:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-07-09 19:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-07-09 19:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"IBB 2316","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}