Rate My Professor Petra Hajkova

Hajkova's research investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying the maintenance and erasure of epigenetic information, with a focus on epigenetic reprogramming during mammalian germline development and the zygote stage. Her group employs genetic and biochemical approaches in mouse models to study DNA methylation dynamics, hydroxymethylation propagation, chromatin assembly and disassembly, histone replacement, and the impact of environmental factors on these processes. Key areas include gene-environment interactions, cell identity across the life course, and implications for infertility, oocyte quality decline with age, regeneration barriers, and metabolism-epigenetic crosstalk. Seminal publications include 'Chromatin dynamics during epigenetic reprogramming in the mouse germ line' (Nature, 2008), 'Genome-wide reprogramming in the mouse germ line entails the base excision repair pathway' (Science, 2010), 'Epigenetic reprogramming enables the transition from primordial germ cell to gonocyte' (Nature, 2018), 'Sex-specific chromatin remodelling safeguards transcription in germ cells' (Nature, 2021), and 'Quantifying propagation of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation with iDEMS' (Nature Cell Biology, 2023). Her contributions have earned awards such as the Cheryll Tickle Medal from the British Society for Developmental Biology (2024) and the Mary Lyon Medal from the Genetics Society (2017).