Dilek Guneri

Over seven years of academic experience including the design, development, and delivery of lectures, workshops, and laboratory classes to groups of 30–120 students across molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and pharmacology.

Experience supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects across Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy.

Her teaching experience was developed in the UCL School of Pharmacy and London Metropolitan University, delivering research-led teaching in molecular genetics, genomics, and cell biology, preparing and leading interactive practical sessions.

Her research focuses on structural nucleic acid biology and translational medicine, exploring how unusual DNA structures regulate gene expression at the epigenetic and transcriptional levels and how these mechanisms can be harnessed for therapeutic targeting and personalised medicine.

She integrates biophysics, molecular biology, and cellular biology to investigate the sequence specificity, stability, and biological relevance of cytosine-rich DNA sequences forming pH-responsive i-motifs and guanine-rich sequences forming cation-dependent G-quadruplexes in gene regulatory regions.

Her recent work has revealed a link between these alternative DNA structures and glucose responsiveness in cells, contributed to the development of a predictive webserver for identifying i-motif-forming sequences across the genome, and led high-throughput screening of small molecules that interact with these structures for pre-clinical drug discovery.

She also has a strong interest in regenerative medicine, particularly in stem cell differentiation and bone physiology, contributing to collaborative translational research aimed at biomarker discovery and therapeutic modulation of gene expression.

Nuccio SP, Cadoni E, Nikoloudaki R, Galli S, Ler AJ, Sanchez-Cabanillas C, Maher TE, Fan E, Guneri D, Flint G, Zhu M, Liu LS, Fullenkamp CR, Waller ZAE ,Magnani L, Schneekloth Jr. JS, Di Antonio M. Chemically modified CRISPR-Cas9 enables individual G-quadruplex and i-motif targeting, revealing ligand- dependent transcriptional perturbation. (final revision for Nature Communications, 2025)

Guneri D, Morris CJ, Ding Y, Craggs T, Smith SS, Waller ZAE. G-Quadruplexes Act as an On/Off Switch While i-Motifs Regulate Insulin Expression in Reporter Gene Assays. (Final revision for Nucleic Acid Research, preprint May 2025)

Guneri D, Rosonovski S, King J, Morris CJ, Waller ZAE. Affinity-selected peptide ligand reduces c-Myc gene expression by destabilization of i-motif DNA structure. (Final revision stage in Nucleic Acid Research)

Warner EF., Guneri D, MacDonald CJ, Waller ZAE. Modulation of Nrf2 expression by targeting i-motif DNA. Nature Communications Chemistry, Jan 2025.

Yu H, Li F, Yang B, Qi Y, Guneri D, Chen W, Waller ZAE, Li K, Ding Y. iM-Seeker: a webserver for DNA i-motifs prediction and scoring via automated machine learning, Nucleic Acids Research, April 2024.

Yang B, Guneri D, Yu H, Wright EP, Chen W, Waller ZAE, Ding Y. Prediction of DNA i-motifs via machine learning. Nucleic Acids Research. Feb 2024.

Guneri D, Waller ZAE. Utility of intercalator displacement assays for screening of ligands for i-motif DNA structures. Methods in Enzymology, Academic Press, Jan 2024.

Alexandrou E, Guneri D, Neidle S, Waller ZAE. QN-302 demonstrates opposing effects between i-motif and G-quadruplex DNA structures in the promoter of the S100P gene. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. Dec 2023.

Williams SL, Casas‐Delucchi CS, Raguseo F, Guneri D, Li Y, Minamino M, Fletcher EE, Yeeles JTP, Keyser UF, Waller ZAE, Antonio M, Coster G. Replication‐induced DNA secondary structures drive fork uncoupling and breakage. EMBO J. Nov 2023.

Guneri D, Alexandrou E, Omari K, Dvořáková Z, Chikhale RV, Pike D, Waudby CA, Morris CJ, Haider S, Parkinson GN, Waller ZAE. Structural Insights into Regulation of Insulin Expression Involving i-Motif DNA Structures in the Insulin-Linked Polymorphic Region. bioRxiv, June 2023. preprint. Nature Communications, August 2024.

Ahmed A.A, Greenhalf W, Palmer D.H, Williams N, Worthington J, Arshad T, Haider S, Alexandrou E, Guneri D, Waller ZAE, Neidle S. The Potent G-Quadruplex-Binding Compound QN-302 Downregulates S100P Gene Expression in Cells and in an In Vivo Model of Pancreatic Cancer. Molecules. March 2023.

Chikhale RV, Guneri D, Yuan R, Morris CJ, Waller ZAE. Identification of sugar-containing natural products that interact with i-motif DNA. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Oct 2022.

Associate Fellow of Higher Education
Associate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Early Career Member of the Biochemical Society