MSc Student
McGill University, Canada
Jennelle Smith completed a Bachelors of Basic Medical Sciences in Anatomy at the University of the West Indies-Mona, Jamaica. She is currently a first-year Master’s student in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and is completing her master’s thesis in Dr. Loydie A. JeromeMajewska’s Lab. Her research project is entitled, "The molecular and cellular underpinnings of axial defects in Snrpb mutants arising from neural crest and mesodermal cellular dysfunction". In her project, Jennelle is using mutant mouse models to characterize axial skeletal defects associated with the rare congenital spliceosomopathy: Cerebrocostomandibular syndrome (CCMS). CCMS is commonly caused by a mutation in SNRPB, a contributor to the core spliceosome, which regulates the splicing of a host of different genes. This disease is associated with axial defects such as microcephaly, small cheekbones, micrognathia or small jaw, bell-shaped thorax and scoliosis. This project aims to identify the mechanism and pathways through which deletion of Snrpb affects the development of the axial skeleton.
