Hady Al Shami obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry from the Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences, and a Master’s degree in Cancer Biology from the University of Montpellier, Faculty of Sciences.
He started his PhD at CIRB in 2023, working on alternative splicing in fully-grown oocytes. Despite a massive reduction in transcription levels in fully-grown oocytes, alternative splicing nonetheless occurs and controls mouse oocyte quality and successful development. Indeed, treatment of fully-grown Prophase I-arrested oocytes with splicing modulators, which affect spliceosome function, impact their capacity to divide. Under these conditions, the duration of the first meiotic division is extended and less efficient than in controls. However, the process by which alternative splicing modulation can impact oocyte quality and successful development has not yet been fully investigated.
His PhD thesis project seeks to improve our understanding of oocyte development, specifically the mechanisms underlying alternative splicing in fully-grown oocytes that are transcriptionally almost silent.
