July 2025 · Porto, Portugal
FASEB — "Mobile DNA: Mechanisms and Health Impact"
Dr Anna Fleming presented our research on transposable elements in placental tissue at the FASEB Mobile DNA conference.
Frost Lab · King’s College London
Transposable
elements as
regulatory
sequences in the
placenta.
Half of the human genome comes from ancient transposons. We study how those sequences regulate genes in the human placenta — and how that regulation goes wrong in pregnancy complications.
Extravillous trophoblast
differentiated from human trophoblast stem cells
~50%
of the human genome is transposon-derived
8%
are LTR retrotransposons with TF binding sites
6
researchers in the lab
33
publications since 2007
01 — Research
Transposons as gene regulators
Mapping how ancient retrotransposon sequences direct gene expression during placentation.
02 — Team
Who we are
Geneticists, clinicians and biomedical engineers working at Guy’s Campus.
03 — Publications
33 papers and counting
- 2025 · bioRxiv (preprint)
Divergent roles of DNA methylation, TRIM28, and p53 surveillance in human embryonic and trophoblast stem cells
- 2024 · Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Dynamics of DNA methylation and its impact on plant embryogenesis
- 2024 · EMBO Molecular Medicine
The evolving genetic landscape of telomere biology disorder dyskeratosis congenita
Why it matters
Pregnancy complications affect up to 20% of human pregnancies.
Fetal growth restriction, stillbirth, spontaneous preterm birth and pre-eclampsia share a likely common factor: insufficient placental invasion of the uterus. The molecular causes remain unclear.
We use placentas from complicated pregnancies, human trophoblast stem cells and trophoblast organoids to dissect the genetic and epigenetic changes at transposon-derived regulatory regions.
Latest
From the lab
June 2025 · Folkestone, UK
Lab Retreat with the Branco Lab
The Frost Lab and Branco Lab held a joint retreat at Seagate. Jenny, Carlos, Anna and Matt joined for a few days of research talks and walks along the coast.
April 2025 · London, UK
Lab Outing to the Gordon Museum
Team visit to the Gordon Museum at Guy's, followed by a gathering at The Ship in Borough. Attendees: Jenny, Matt, Carlos, Anna.
Open positions
Looking for the next chapter of your career?
We have funded PhD projects and welcome enquiries from postdocs with their own funding.