Dr. Natalie Warsinger-Pepe

Postdoctoral Associate

Natalie received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2020 after completion of her dissertation in Dr. Yukiko Yamashita’s laboratory. She joined the Hanlon lab in the fall of 2024 where she studies the mechanisms of chromosome loss using the B chromosome drag model in D. melanogaster and paternal genome elimination in Bradysia (Sciara) coprophila.

Publications:

1. “Properties and Prospects of B Chromosomes.” Warsinger-Pepe, N., and Hanlon S.L. (2026). Annu Rev Genet. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-013026-085256
2. “Polycomb response elements reduce leaky expression of Cas9 under temperature-inducible Hsp70Bb promoter in Drosophila melanogaster.” Warsinger-Pepe, N., Chang, C#., Desroberts, C.R.#, Akbari, O.S. (2023). G3 (Bethesda). DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad024
3. “Precision Guided Sterile Males Suppress Populations of an Invasive Crop Pest.” Kandul, N.P.*, Liu, J.*, Buchman, A.*, Shriner, I.C., Corder, R.M., Warsinger-Pepe, N., Yang, T., Yadav, A.K., Scott, M.J., Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S. (2022). GEN Biotechnology. DOI: 10.1089/genbio.2022.0019 *equal contributing authors.
4. “Regulation of Nucleolar Dominance in Drosophila melanogaster.” Warsinger-Pepe, N., Li, D.# and Yamashita, Y. M. (2020). Genetics. DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302471
5. “Mechanisms of rDNA Copy Number Maintenance.” Nelson, J. O., Watase, G. J., Warsinger-Pepe, N., and Yamashita, Y. M. (2019). Trends in Genetics. DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2019.07.006
6. “Transgenerational dynamics of rDNA copy number in Drosophila male germline stem cells.” Lu, K. L.*, Nelson, J. O.*, Watase, G. J., Warsinger-Pepe, N., Yamashita, Y. M. (2018). Elife. 7. DOI:10.7554/eLife.32421 *equal contributing authors.
7. “Comparative Analysis of Satellite DNA in the Drosophila melanogaster species complex.” Jagannathan, M.*, Warsinger-Pepe, N.*, Watase, G. J.*, & Yamashita, Y. M. (2017). G3 (Bethesda). DOI:10.1534/g3.116.035352. *equal contributing authors.

Oral presentations:

2026 Fly Club Symposium, University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
2019 ASBMB: Emerging Roles for the Nucleolus, Stowers Institute Kansas City, MO
2018 ASCB-EMBO Meeting San Diego, CA
2018 7th Annual Northeast Regional Chromosome Pairing Conference, Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, Ontario
2017 6th Annual Northeast Regional Chromosome Pairing Conference, Bowdoin College Brunswick ME
2016 5th Annual Northeast Regional Chromosome Pairing Conference, Harvard Medical School Cambridge, MA

Awards and Honors:

Best Trainee Talk Award ASBMB: Emerging Roles for the Nucleolus, Stowers Institute, Kansas City, MO 2019
Excellence in Research, Service, and Promoting DEI Graduate Student Award, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 2019
EDGE Award Endowment for Basic Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 2018
Contact Information
Emailnatalie.wp@uconn.edu