Sari Pennings

Dr. Sari Pennings is a Reader (equivalent to Associate Professor) at the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cardiovascular Science within the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. She holds the Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) designation (2021) and serves as Postgraduate Research Director for the Centre, Course Organiser for 'Genes and Disease' in the MScR Biomedical Sciences program, and member of the Centre's Postgraduate Committee.

Her research centers on epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation and histone modifications that govern early development, cardiovascular differentiation, and environmental responses. Using molecular biology, advanced microscopy, and bioinformatics, her group investigates chromatin dynamics in stem cells, embryos, and disease models. Key interests span heterochromatin maturation, epigenetic adaptation to cell culture, and the impact of metabolism/pollution on gene regulation landscapes.

Dr. Pennings' scientific recognition includes:

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA, 2021)
• Lead Guest Editor for 'Stem Cells International' Special Issue on stem cell niches
• Guest Editor for 'International Journal of Molecular Sciences' Special Issue on chromatin epigenetics
• BBSRC Committee C Core Member (2023–present) and former Grant Awarding Panel member (2009–2016)

She actively supervises four students across PhD, MSc, and undergraduate levels while hosting international collaborators from Université Grenoble Alpes. Her lab maintains strong public engagement through Edinburgh Science Festival events and College-wide initiatives she has led since 2010. Dr. Pennings is open to new PhD supervision enquiries and continues to expand her work on epigenetic-environmental interactions in cardiovascular contexts.

The Sari Pennings Research Group has made seminal discoveries about heterochromatin maturation timelines and epigenetic plasticity. They maintain active collaborations through networks like the Edinburgh Chromatin, Epigenetics & Transcriptional Regulation Network (which she co-organizes) and apply interdisciplinary approaches to decode how environmental factors rewrite epigenetic programming in development and disease.