Rate My Professor Jennifer Mitchell

Mitchell's laboratory investigates how the genome functions within stem cells to regulate self-renewal and differentiation into specialized cell types. Her research emphasizes the three-dimensional organization of the nucleus, where DNA regulatory sequences such as enhancers form chromatin loops to control tissue-specific gene expression. Utilizing CRISPR genome editing, molecular biology, cellular imaging, genome-wide sequencing, and bioinformatics, her team has identified key enhancers activating stem cell genes, including a distal enhancer cluster for the Sox2 transcription factor required to maintain the embryonic stem cell state (Genes & Development, 2014). Other seminal works include demonstrations that enhancers and super-enhancers play equivalent roles in regulating embryonic stem cell genes (Genome Research, 2017), transcriptional control of parturition in the myometrium (Molecular Human Reproduction, 2021), and enhancer-gene rewiring in Quebec Platelet Disorder (Blood). Recent findings reveal redundant mechanisms preserving genome architecture and a developmental enhancer co-opted by cancers to drive oncogene expression and tumor growth. Mitchell's contributions extend to understanding DNA's role in individuality, disease predisposition, and potential CRISPR-based therapies for genetic disorders. She has received the CIHR New Investigator award and the Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty Award of Excellence in 2016.