Monique Rijnkels
Research Associate Professor & Associate Department Head Department of Veterinary Integrative BiosciencesEducation:
Baylor College of Medicine - (Houston, Texas, United States), Postdoctoral Training 2001
Ph.D. in Medical Biotechnology, Leiden University - (Leiden, Netherlands) 1997
M.S. in Biochemistry, Leiden University - (Leiden, Netherlands) 1988
Professional Organizations:
American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)
Epigenetics society
International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML)
Service:
Member of Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes project (FAANG)
Member of the International Milk Genomics Consortium (IMGC)
Member Scientific Advisory Committee International Milk Genomics Consortium (IMGC)
Member of College of veterinary medicine and Biomedical sciences BIMS MS non-thesis option steering committee (serves also as admissions committee) (CVMBS)
Member of professional Code of Conduct Committee (CVMBS)
Member of Graduate Program Curriculum Review Committee (CVMBS)
Member of APT Faculty Committee (TAMU)
Member of Texas A&M Center for Environmental Health Research (TiCER
Short Bio:
Dr. Rijnkels’ research interests focus on the interaction between epigenetics, genetics, and environment in mammary gland function and health. She trained at Leiden University, the Netherlands, with Pharming Group NV, The Netherlands, and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. She is currently at the department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biological Sciences, Texas A&M University. As part of the bovine genome consortium, she led the lactation group for the annotation and analysis of the bovine genome. She is part of Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes (FAANG) consortium actively involved in chromatin analysis in the bovine genome.
- Genomics
- Genetics
- Epigenetics
- (Epi)Genome-to Phenome
- Development
- Cell biology
The primary objective of my research is to investigate the interaction between epigenetics, genetics, and environment in mammary gland function and health. These efforts focus specifically on the pathways that play a role in establishing and maintaining lactation, and the epigenetic regulation of development, differentiation and disease. The most recent focus of my research is on the role of metabolism and its interaction with epigenetics. I have made the mammary gland my preferred system of study owing to its significance to a diverse array of questions in human health and nutrition, mammalian biology and agriculture. It provides a unique model of development and functional differentiation, and during lactation it is an exceptionally metabolically active tissue affecting whole body physiology, which could be seen as a form of programmed metabolic stress.
Epigenetic regulation in the mammary gland
Mammary gland specific chromatin organization is established during early development of the mammary gland, which is then poised to respond to the systemic hormonal signals of pregnancy and lactation to achieve the full functional capacity of the gland. This aids tissue and state specific expression as well as restricts the expression of pathways not needed for the functioning of the differentiating mammary cells. Questions still remain what drives the early establishment of tissue and stage specific chromatin organization, and how do environmental and other challenges affect this, and what are the consequences of dysregulation.
(Epi)Genome-to Phenome
Understanding genetic and epigenetic drivers for variation in mammary gland function through integration of GWAS, epigenomic and genomic data
Annotation of the bovine genome and mammary gland epigenome
Using -omics data (Transcriptomics: mRNA, miRNA; Epigenomic: open chromatin (ATAC-seq), DNA-methylation (WGBS)) to annotate the bovine genome and understand the regulation of mammary gland function.
Metabolic adaptation to lactation: interplay with epigenetic regulation?
Mitochondria are at the center of many metabolic processes. They sense and respond to the environment and provide the energy and metabolites to support anabolic activity in the cell as well as chromatin organization that enables the proper gene expression program. The strain on resources due to the high anabolic output and metabolic demand of lactation and the known chromatin organization changes associated with a fully functional mammary epithelial cell, suggest that the mammary gland performs a precarious balancing act that could easily be perturbed.
Collaborations
Mechanisms regulating uterine epithelial integrity and the role of epigenetic modifier Ezh2 (Dr. Qinglei Li)
Role of Per2 in mammary gland development and function (Dr. Weston Porter)
- BIOT685 Directed Studies Instructor
- VIBS650 Educ Vet Med Bio Envir Instructor
- VIBS685 Directed Studies Instructor
Member of Graduate Faculty