biology

Marnie Blewitt

Marnie Blewitt is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Marnie Blewitt rather than just read about it. In short: Marnie Blewitt is head of a division at WEHI, which focuses on X-inactivation, and is engaged in research on the role of polycomb-group proteins in hematopoietic stem cell function. Scientific career Education She completed undergraduate studies in 1999 at The University of Sydney, with honours and a double major of Molecular Biology and Genetics.

Key takeaways

Marnie Blewitt belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Marnie Blewitt to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Marnie Blewitt from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Marnie Blewitt is head of a division at WEHI, which focuses on X-inactivation, and is engaged in research on the role of polycomb-group proteins in hematopoietic stem cell function.

Scientific career

Education She completed undergraduate studies in 1999 at The University of Sydney, with honours and a double major of Molecular Biology and Genetics. As part of her doctoral research at the same institution under the supervision of Associate Professor Emma Whitelaw, she designed a sensitised mutagenesis screen to find new epigenetic modifiers in mice, for which she was awarded the Genetics Society of Australia DG Catcheside prize for the best PhD in genetics. She moved to Melbourne at the end of 2005 to accept a Peter Doherty post-doctoral fellowship in Doug Hilton's lab from 2005 to 2009, before becoming laboratory head in January 2010.

Research interests Blewitt's lab focuses on molecular mechanisms behind epigenetic control of gene expression. Her lab has worked on one of the mouse mutants identified in the mutagenesis screen, identifying a critical role for the protein Smchd1 in X inactivation in cancer. Other research activities include the study of the roles of polycomb-group proteins in hematopoietic stem cell function.

Teaching and public service Marnie Blewitt conducted a massive open online course in epigenetics at Coursera starting on 28 April 2014.

Awards and honors Genetics Society of Australia D.G. Catcheside Prize (2006) National Health and Medical Research Council Fellowship (2006) L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science (2009) National Health and Medical Research Council Grants (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013) Australian Academy of Science Ruth Stephens Gani Medal (2009)

Personal life Blewitt is married and has two children.

Selected publications Blewitt ME, Gendrel AV, Pang Z, Sparrow DB, Whitelaw N, Craig JM, Apedaile A, Hilton DJ, Dunwoodie SL, Brockdorff N, Kay GF, Whitelaw E (2008). "SmcHD1, containing a structural-maintenance-of-chromosomes hinge domain, has a critical role in X inactivation". Nat Genet. 40 (5): 663–9. doi:10.1038/ng.142. PMID 18425126.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Majewski IJ, Blewitt ME, de Graaf CA, McManus EJ, Bahlo M, Hilton AA, Hyland CD, Smyth GK, Corbin JE, Metcalf D, Alexander WS, Hilton DJ (2008). "Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) restricts hematopoietic stem cell activity". PLOS Biol. 6 (4): e93. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060093. PMC 2292752. PMID 18416604.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Blewitt ME, Vickaryous NK, Hemley SJ, Ashe A, Bruxner TJ, Preis JI, Arkell R, Whitelaw E (2005). "An ENU screen for genes involved in variegation in the mouse". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 102 (21): 7629–7634. doi:10.1073/pnas.0409375102. PMC 1140414. PMID 15890782.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Ashe A, Morgan DK, Whitelaw NC, Bruxner TJ, Vickaryous NK, Cox LL, Butterfield NC, Wicking C, Blewitt ME, Wilkins SJ, Anderson GJ, Cox TC, Whitelaw E (2008). "A genome-wide screen for modifiers of transgene variegation identifies genes with critical roles in development". Genome Biol. 9 (12) R182. doi:10.1186/gb-2008-9-12-r182. PMC 2646286. PMID 19099580.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Chong S, Vickaryous N, Ashe A, Zamudio N, Youngson N, Hemley S, Stopka T, Skoultchi A, Matthews J, Scott HS, de Kretser D, O'Bryan M, Blewitt M, Whitelaw E (2007). "Modifiers of epigenetic reprogramming show paternal effects in the mouse". Nat Genet. 39 (5): 614–22. doi:10.1038/ng2031. PMC 3199608. PMID 17450140.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Blewitt ME, Vickaryous NK, Paldi A, Koseki H, Whitelaw E (2006). "Dynamic reprogramming of DNA methylation at an epigenetically sensitive allele in mice". PLOS Genet. 2 (4): e49. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0020049. PMC 1428789. PMID 16604157.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Rakyan VK, Chong S, Champ ME, Cuthbert PC, Morgan HD, Luu KVK, Whitelaw E (2003). "Transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic states at the murine AxinFu allele occurs following maternal and paternal transmission". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 100 (5): 2538–43. doi:10.1073/pnas.0436776100. PMC 151376. PMID 12601169.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

References

External links Marnie Blewitt Faculty page, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Marnie Blewitt

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Marnie Blewitt claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Marnie Blewitt before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Marnie Blewitt ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Marnie Blewitt

In research: Marnie Blewitt appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Marnie Blewitt in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Marnie Blewitt is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of the University of Melbourne, Australian geneticists, Australian medical researchers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Marnie Blewitt outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Marnie Blewitt in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Marnie Blewitt means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Marnie Blewitt out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marnie Blewitt in simple terms?

Marnie Blewitt is head of a division at WEHI, which focuses on X-inactivation, and is engaged in research on the role of polycomb-group proteins in hematopoietic stem cell function. Scientific career Education She completed undergraduate studies in 1999 at The University of Sydney, with honours and…

Why does Marnie Blewitt matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Marnie Blewitt?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Marnie Blewitt.