About

Introduction

My name is Dr. Louis-Stéphane Le Clercq and I am a geneticist. Originally from Pretoria, I completed my undergraduate studies (Bachelor of Science) at the University of Pretoria with a focus on Cell and Molecular Biology. After completing my degree, I did an honours degree during which I conducted proteomic research on transcription factor activation and nuclear translocation in cultured monocytes as part of interleukin transcription during inflammation. This involved the development of a novel Flow Cytometry method to quantitate transcription factor phosphorylation in response to pathogens (see Projects).

Hereafter, I completed Masters level research with a focus on modelling the evolution of viral quasispecies in chronic infection by studying diversity across the full genome of the hepatitis B virus in immunocompromised individuals using NGS (see Projects). This involved significant computational biology to reconstruct viral meta-populations using Java scripted algorithms. After graduating from my Masters, I completed an internship/stage through the National Research Foundation and Department of Science and Innovation based at the National Zoological Gardens. Much like my ancestor and naturalist George-Louis Le Clercq, Count of Buffon, this time period was when I realised and developed a deeper research interest in animal science.

I recently completed thesis research towards a PhD degree in Genetics (see Projects). My research was focused on conservation genetics and included studies of putative candidate genes for migration in intra-African migratory birds as well as the use of epigenetics to model age in natural populations. For migration genetics I researched population genetic structure in Woodland Kingfisher and Diederik Cuckoo for the Clock and Adcyap1  genes to elucidate associations between microsatellite repeats and divergent migratory behaviour. Furthermore, I explored the development of epigenetic models using CpG methylation in gene subsets as well as telomere length as tools to study the structure of biological age in populations of African Cheetah and African Penguin.

I am a registered scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) and student member of two scientific societies, the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) and the South African Genetics Society (SAGS). As a member I have participated in forums and information sessions, in addition to presenting on my Ph.D. research at the SASBi-SC/SAGS Student Symposium in 2021.