Sijie Jessie Chen

Sijie (Jessie) Chen is a toxicology scholar and PhD student working in Dr. Jing Yang’s lab at the Department of Comparative Biosciences. Her research focuses on the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET), specifically on RNA solubility phase transitions as novel cytoplasmic remodeling mechanisms. She investigates the cis-elements regulating RNA during S-I phase transitions and how environmental exposures, such as phthalate mixtures, affect this process in Xenopus and zebrafish. By combining mechanistic studies with environmental exposure models, her work aims to uncover new post-transcriptional mechanisms governing RNA behavior during OET and to reveal how environmental factors may influence female fertility and human reproductive health.