Hello! I'm Arrosan

Defining meiosis-specific cohesin–chromosome-axis interactions that govern recombination initiation.

I am a PhD Researcher in the Murakami Lab (Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen), supervised by Dr Hajime Murakami (primary supervisor) and Dr Alexander Lorenz (co-supervisor). My research focuses on how cohesin and chromosome-axis proteins regulate meiotic DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation and recombination initiation, using calibrated ChIP-seq, molecular genetics, and quantitative analysis workflows in R/Python.

CV

About

I am a PhD researcher in the Murakami Lab at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen. My work investigates the molecular mechanisms that initiate meiotic recombination, with particular emphasis on the interplay between meiosis-specific cohesin and chromosome-axis proteins.

My PhD project examines how protein-protein interactions along meiotic chromosomes influence programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation and the recombination landscape. I combine experimental genetics and biochemistry with calibrated ChIP-seq and quantitative data analysis to link chromosomal protein binding patterns with meiotic outcomes.

Thesis topic: Meiosis-Specific Interaction Between Cohesin and Chromosome Axis Proteins Regulates Recombination Initiation
Primary Supervisor (PhD): Dr Hajime Murakami (Advanced Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen; meiosis and meiotic recombination initiation / DSB regulation)  |  Co-supervisor: Dr Alexander Lorenz (Senior Lecturer, University of Aberdeen; fungal genetics and molecular cell biology)

Meiosis Cohesin / Axis Proteins Calibrated ChIP-seq DSB Analysis Molecular Genetics R & Python Linux

Research Focus

Molecular mechanisms of meiotic recombination initiation

My research focuses on how meiosis-specific cohesin and chromosome-axis proteins cooperate to regulate the initiation of meiotic recombination through programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation. I investigate how these factors are recruited, positioned, and stabilised along meiotic chromosomes, and how this organisation influences recombination outcomes.

I use a combination of yeast molecular genetics, chromosome immunostaining, western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation, BMOE crosslinking, and calibrated ChIP-seq to interrogate the mechanistic basis of cohesin–axis protein function. This experimental work is supported by reproducible computational workflows for quantitative analysis and visualisation in R and Python.

More broadly, this work contributes to understanding how failures in meiotic chromosome regulation can lead to chromosome segregation errors and genome instability.

Mechanistic Chromosome Biology

Dissecting how cohesin and chromosome-axis proteins interact to promote and regulate meiotic recombination initiation.

Calibrated Genomic Mapping

Using calibrated ChIP-seq and quantitative assays to map protein occupancy and relate it to meiotic DSB landscapes.

Reproducible Quantitative Workflows

Developing analysis pipelines in R/Python/Linux for robust processing, visualisation, and interpretation of experimental datasets.

Supervisory Team

Dr Hajime Murakami (Primary PhD Supervisor)

Dr Murakami is my primary PhD supervisor and leads the Murakami Lab at the University of Aberdeen. He is an Advanced Research Fellow in the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition. His research focuses on the initiation stage of meiotic recombination, particularly the programmed formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and the chromosome-associated mechanisms that regulate robust meiotic recombination.

University profile · Pure profile · ORCID

Dr Alexander Lorenz (Co-supervisor)

Dr Lorenz is my PhD co-supervisor and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. His expertise spans fungal genetics, molecular cell biology, and genetics education, and he also coordinates teaching including the GN3502 Genetics Practical.

University profile · Pure profile · ORCID

Teaching & Supervision

Demonstration / Teaching

Demonstrator, GN3502: Genetics Practical (2026) — University of Aberdeen

Course Coordinator: Dr Alexander Lorenz

Student Supervision & Mentoring

Supervision and training support for undergraduate and visiting students in molecular biology/genetics laboratory work, including experimental planning, practical workflows, and research communication.

Includes mentoring of undergraduate and visiting students in the Murakami/Lorenz research environment.

Projects

This list pulls automatically from my public GitHub repositories, including analysis scripts and reproducible workflows for molecular biology and genomics data.

Publications (selected)

Conference abstracts & presentations (selected)

For a complete list, see Google Scholar, ORCID, and my University of Aberdeen Pure profile.

Achievements

Memberships

Contact

Email: a.rajalingam.23@abdn.ac.uk (alt: arrosan06@gmail.com)

Murakami Lab (2.06) • Chromosome and Cellular Dynamics Section • Institute of Medical Sciences • Foresterhill Campus • University of Aberdeen AB25 2ZD