Svanhild Nornes
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
My research concentrates on regulatory pathways that control the formation of vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells during embryogenesis. Endothelial cells, lining the inner surface of all blood and lymphatic vessels, are specified by different signalling pathways. By examining gene enhancers, cis-regulatory elements in the genome activating transcriptional regulation, the different signalling pathways can be identified. This has led to identification of the BMP pathway specifying vein formation. I am currently investigating sox18 enhancers for involvement in lymphatic specification.
Zebrafish is one of our primary model systems to elucidate regulatory pathways. I have in-depth experience in working with zebrafish as a model system and use this system to test regulatory elements; for example, by producing both transient and stable fluorescent zebrafish lines.
I am funded by the De Val lab Medical Research Council project grant and the De Val lab British Heart Foundation Senior Fellowship.
Recent publications
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Evaluating the transcriptional regulators of arterial gene expression via a catalogue of characterized arterial enhancers.
Journal article
Nornes S. et al, (2025), Elife, 14
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A catalogue of verified and characterized arterial enhancers for key arterial identity genes
Preprint
Nornes S. et al, (2024)
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Germline and somatic genetic variants in the p53 pathway interact to affect cancer risk, progression, and drug response.
Journal article
Zhang P. et al, (2021), Cancer Res
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ETS factors are required but not sufficient for specific patterns of enhancer activity in different endothelial subtypes.
Journal article
Neal A. et al, (2021), Dev Biol, 473, 1 - 14