In the latest episode of Genetics Unzipped, Dr Kat Arney takes a look at the progress that’s been made in tackling rare genetic disorders (and the challenges that remain) and we hear from a prenatal genetic counsellor about how new tests are helping people carrying genetic variations make decisions about starting a family.
With Dr Ron Jortner (founder and CEO of Masthead Biosciences and trustee of the Cambridge Rare Disease Network) and Genetic counsellor Kira Dineen.
A postdoctoral Research Associate position is currently available for an individual to work in the laboratory of Prof. Anna Philpott within the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (https://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/research/pis/philpott). The Philpott lab has broad interests in understanding the fundamental mechanisms that determine cell fate choice and differentiation during embryonic development and in cancers, as well as how these processes are co-ordinated with cell cycle progression.
The successful candidate will undertake a project focused around transcriptional regulation of lineage fidelity during fate specification and differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells, focusing on uncovering epigenetic and co-factor-dependent mechanisms underlying these processes. There is also an opportunity to work on parallel mechanisms of fate specification and differentiation in Xenopus frog embryos.
The successful candidate will have a PhD, considerable experience in stem cell biology, epigenetics, molecular biology, developmental biology, or a similar field, and a proven track record in scientific publication. Prior experience in mammalian cell culture is essential. Experience of epigenetics and/or transcriptional regulation are essential, while experience of genome-wide transcriptional analysis, and in particular analysis at the single cell level, and/or CRISPR technology would also be an advantage. Applicants must display an ability to undertake project management, work within a multi-disciplinary team environment, have good presentation and communication skills and the ability to contribute to an environment supporting researchers at all stages of their careers.
The Wellcome – MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) is a world-leading centre for stem cell research with the mission to transform human health through a deep understanding of stem cell biology. https://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/ .
Apply online at http://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/26715/
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance. Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment and a security check.
Closing date for applications is 21/09/2020 with interviews date to be confirmed.
Informal enquiries should be directed to Prof. Anna Philpott, ap113@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PS23867 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Transitions between cellular identities are fundamental to metazoan biology, from development to disease. Yet how cells navigate accurately between distinct identities remains poorly understood. A primary challenge is that transition is intrinsically dynamic, an outcome of time and stimulation. The methodology and the theory necessary to capture and decode these molecular and cellular dynamics are underdeveloped.
This Workshop aims to highlight innovative interdisciplinary approaches to the question of how biological transitions occur. We bring together practitioners in stem cell and developmental biology with theorists and experimentalists from physics, mathematics and engineering. The goal is to explore avenues for examining cell state transitions across multiple scales. We will consider concepts, tools and technologies, and model systems.
The Workshop will be run in virtual format using bespoke software to facilitate break out discussions. Early-career researchers will be offered a 1 to 1 mentoring opportunity with a senior investigator. The Workshop will be free for those selected to attend.
We offer 10 places for early-career researchers (PhD, postdocs and PIs in the first 3 years of their first appointment) to attend our virtual Workshops along with the our invited speakers.
The deadline date for applications is 28 August 2020.
During development, the establishment of directional left-right (L-R) asymmetry is crucial for the correct positioning of organs within the body. How symmetry is broken in the embryo is still incompletely understood at the molecular level, as is its evolutionary history. A new paper in Developmenttackles this problem with an analysis of L-R asymmetry in the basal chordate amphioxus. We caught up with first author Xin Zhu and supervisors Yiquan Wang and Guang Li of Xiamen University in Fujian, China, to find out more about the work.
Xin, Yiquan and Guang (L to R)
Yiquan and Guang, can you give us your scientific biography and the questions your lab is trying to answer?
YW I did my undergraduate study at Anhui Normal University, China, between 1978 and 1982, and then postgraduate training at Shanxi Normal University between 1984 and 1985. I was a teaching assistant at Anhui Normal University in 1983 and became a lecturer there in 1986. My major job during this period was teaching, but I also joined several research programs including developing methods to preserve and breed Chinese alligators in captivity. I then moved on to do my Ph.D. at Nanjing Normal University between 1992 and 1995, followed by postdoctoral training at China Pharmaceutical University in 1997. I went to Hong Kong University of Science & Technology as a visiting scholar in 1998. During this time, I learned many molecular skills, with which I studied the phylogenetic relationship of several groups of animals and developed DNA markers to distinguish Chinese herbs. I became a Professor at Nanjing Normal University in 1999, a visiting professor at Texas University (Houston), USA, in 2000, and a visiting scientist at the University of Cincinnati, USA, in 2001. Several different topics were studied during these years, varying from geography and phylogenetic relationships of reptiles, isolation of genes encoding snake venom, and human population genetics. In 2002, I came back to China, settled down at Xiamen University, and began my work with amphioxus. I retired in January 2018 and Guang inherited my laboratory.
GL Both my Master’s (2003-2006) and Ph.D. (2006-2010) training were supervised by Yiquan, although I also spent nearly one and a half years (2008-2010) in Peter Holland’s laboratory at the University of Oxford as a visiting student. My major interest in this period was gene family evolution among chordates and their potential relationships to certain morphological and physiological features. In 2010, I became an Assistant Professor at Xiamen University and carried on my study on amphioxus in Yiquan’s laboratory. However, I turned my research focus to evolutionary and development biology. To do this, we first established methods for acquiring amphioxus gametes and embryos all year round in 2013, and then methods for generating amphioxus mutant and transgenic lines in 2014 and 2018, respectively. With these methods, we are now able to do in-depth gene function studies in amphioxus. In 2017, I was promoted to be an Associate Professor at Xiamen University and took all responsibilities for the ‘amphioxus lab’ initially set up by Yiquan.
Xin, how did you come to work with Yiquan and Guang and what drives your research today?
I worked on muscle development in fish during my Master’s training. I enjoyed it very much and gained a lot of knowledge and skills in this field. Because of this, I decided to continue my research on developmental biology for my Ph.D. At that time, Yiquan and Guang’s team was working on amphioxus embryonic development with their newly developed methods. Their research topic attracted me very much. In addition, Xiamen University is one of the best and most beautiful universities in China. For these reasons, I sent my CV and expressed my interest to join the team, and luckily, Yiquan and Guang approved my application – I guess they were probably taken by my interests and background in developmental biology. Before I joined the team in 2015, the lab had almost finished their analysis on Cer, Nodal, Lefty and Pitx functions in amphioxus asymmetry development, and had also acquired some evidence indicating that cilia and Hedgehog (Hh) signalling probably act upstream of these genes. I was fascinated by how cilia and Hh signalling regulate amphioxus asymmetry and therefore took this for my Ph.D. study.
What makes amphioxus a good model for studying the development and evolution of L-R asymmetries?
XZ, YW, GL There are several reasons. First, amphioxus occupies a key phylogenetic position among chordates. Second, amphioxus has orthologues (but fewer family members) of most, if not all, genes involved in vertebrate L-R development. It did not undergo extensive genome duplications like vertebrates, and thus retained many features of ancestral chordates. This makes studying the functions of these genes with genetic tools in amphioxus much easier than in vertebrates. Third, in terms of structures, amphioxus embryos are much simpler than those of vertebrates. For example, at the early neurula stage when L-R asymmetry begins to be established, amphioxus embryos are composed of only two layers of cells. Fourth, most morphological features of L-R asymmetry are formed within 24 h after fertilization, and are easy to detect under a stereoscope. Lastly, we have developed a series of methods in recent years which enable us to conduct in-depth functional analysis of genes in amphioxus embryos.
Early neurula stage amphioxus embryos in which Smo or Hh mRNA has been injected, showing Dand5 expression.
Can you give us the key results of the paper in a paragraph?
XZ, YW, GL We think the key results show that Hh signalling is asymmetrical in amphioxus embryos, and this asymmetric signal is required for and acts upstream of asymmetric Dand5 expression. In addition, we also provide evidence suggesting that asymmetric Hh signalling is achieved through a cilia movement-dependent asymmetric distribution of extracellular Hh protein.
Do Hh signalling and motile cilia play a conserved role in asymmetry in other animals?
XZ, YW, GL Motile cilia appear to play a conserved role in all major lineages of deuterostomes, although their function in asymmetry formation in other bilaterians has not been reported. However, Hh signalling in asymmetry has been demonstrated only in mice, chickens, amphioxus and sea urchins, up to date. Notably, the signalling regulates asymmetry in these animals through different L-R genes: Dand5 in amphioxus and Nodal in mice, chicks and sea urchins. It is currently unclear whether the signalling regulates Dand5 expression in mice (or other vertebrates) as in amphioxus, but it is clear that the signalling is not essential for Nodal expression in amphioxus. Interestingly, most Hh signalling genes are expressed in the site at which asymmetry first occurs in sea urchin and vertebrate embryos. This suggests that the Hh signalling might have an earlier role in the asymmetry development of these animals – future studies are needed to clarify this hypothesis.
The effect of nodal flow on L-R patterning is currently explained by two competing models (two-cilia versus morphogen) – which model does your data best support?
XZ, YW, GL If we must choose one, we would go for the morphogen model, because our data indicate that Hh protein (a kind of morphogen) is asymmetrically distributed in a cilia movement-dependent manner as the morphogen model suggests. However, if the target sensed by the second cilia in the two-cilia model is a morphogen, our results also fit the two-cilia model, as we showed that Hh signalling transduction also requires cilia in amphioxus embryos.
When doing the research, did you have any particular result or eureka moment that has stuck with you?
XZ I got really excited when I found that the Hh fusion protein was asymmetrically distributed in Hh-myc mRNA-injected embryos. This not only told us why Hh signalling is asymmetrically activated in amphioxus embryos, but also explained why caSmo mRNA injection could induce more right isomerism phenotype than Hh mRNA injection.
I got really excited when I found that the Hh fusion protein was asymmetrically distributed
And what about the flipside: any moments of frustration or despair?
XZ There were many moments of frustration during my research on the project. One of them concerns cilia. We have been trying to obtain an amphioxus mutant with cilia defects for many years. For this, we tried to knockdown Kif3a or knockout Kif3a and Foxj1 genes. However, none of these treatments could stop ciliogenesis in the early stages of amphioxus embryos. I was really sad when I saw these negative results.
So what next for you after this paper?
XZ I graduated and left Xiamen in July, and am now working at Changsha University in China. Fish muscle regeneration could be my research area for the next few years.
Where will this work take your lab?
YW, GL Several interesting questions were raised from this work. Why is Hh protein able to be transferred by cilia movement? Is Hh protein enveloped before being transported? Why do Ptch mutants show no L-R defects? Is there a nodal flow in amphioxus embryos and where is it? We have already begun to conduct experiments to address these questions, and hope we can get more exciting results in the near future.
Finally, let’s move outside the lab – what do you like to do in your spare time?
YW I like to meet friends to have some tea or play cards with them.
GL I like to stay at home with family, or have a walk with friends or family within the campus or along the beach.
XZ I like to do some sports in my spare time, such as tennis, golf or swimming. Sometimes I also like going for walks along the beach with my friends and thinking about my research project.
In the NordenLab, we aim to untangle the events that lead to the development of organs. In this context, we study the formation of the vertebrate retina and span different developmental stages from optic cup formation to neuroepithelial growth and neural lamination. Our investigations span the cellular to the tissue level and we combine cell and developmental biology approaches with advanced quantitative imaging, image analysis, mechanobiology and, in collaboration, theoretical modeling.
Our current main model system is the zebrafish, due to its fast ex utero development, unmatched possibilities for in vivo imaging and ease of genetic, pharmacological and mechanical perturbations. Currently we set up additional systems in the lab with the establishment of retinal 3D cultures and organoids using mouse and human iPS cells.
We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with strong interest in these topics, excited about cross-disciplinary research with a biology, physics or computer science background. The applicant would always have experimental aspects in any project. Prior knowledge of the zebrafish system is not a prerequisite.
The working language at the institute is English.
Applicants should email a description of research interests, a CV and the names of two to three potential references to Caren Norden (cnorden@igc.gulbenkian.pt).
A postdoc position is available in the Percharde lab at the MRC LMS in London, to investigate novel aspects of nuclear structure and chromatin organisation during early embryo development.
Position title:
3-year fixed term postdoctoral position funded by the MRC
About the position:
The Percharde lab at the MRC London Institute of Medical Science (MRC LMS) is looking to recruit a talented and highly-motivated postdoc to join our group. The Chromatin & Development group is a recently-established team focused on understanding the molecular events surrounding cell fate choices during early development.
Our lab investigates mechanisms of chromatin regulation in early mammalian development. We also study how chromatin regulation and other mechanisms are important for transposable element (TE) expression and function.
In this project, the candidate will investigate the importance of nuclear and nucleolar structure and organisation during early mouse development. Focusing on specific key proteins of interest in the lab, they will use a combination of mouse models and mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to investigate the importance of nuclear and nucleolar structure and chromatin in genome organisation and gene regulation during embryonic development. The project will involve techniques routinely employed in the lab including imaging, genome-wide chromatin and transcriptomic analysis, molecular embryology and CRISPR/Cas9 manipulation.
for more information about the lab. Closing date 11th Sept 2020
Candidate specifications:
Candidates should have a PhD or be in the final stages of completing one, and have a strong background in development, chromatin, or gene regulation, with this post ideally suiting someone with experience working with mouse embryos or ESCs looking to delve further into chromatin and developmental biology.
Apply:
For full details of this post and to complete an online application, visit: tinyurl.com/y5ngvdcc and upload your CV, the names and contacts of two scientific references, along with a cover letter stating why you are applying for this post (providing evidence against the requirements as per the Job Description and Person Specification).
The phrase “adjusting to the new normal” is a part of everyone’s life in one way or another, especially given our current global circumstances. Many in my circle are adjusting to facemasks, keeping physical distance (no friends/family meetups for months), constantly using hand sanitizers, cleaning surfaces at every turn/or use, ordering groceries online instead of going into stores, experimenting with all sorts of food recipes at home – breads galore, doing occasional pick-ups to support local restaurants, returning back to work with all the multiple safety measures in place, etc. etc. The list of what one should do can appear exhausting and without any light to hint at where the path/tunnel is let alone where it might end. It gets even more confusing when there is an abundance of mis-information, and deciphering out what is right and what should definitely be a no-no is all muddled up – sitting under a pile of all the other “must do’s” and “have-to-figure-it-outs.” This piece is just one snippet of a graduate student’s life.
There are many more gut-wrenching truths that the pandemic has brought to everyone’s surface; it has highlighted the myriad problems that exist in our systems globally and at every level. In the US, we have witnessed many horrifying deaths of innocent black lives, injustices faced by natives, mind-boggling rules against immigrants, cruel disregard towards lives of others and deeming such acts as a constitutional right. Sadly, this list goes on. Across the world, we have seen city closures so ill-planned that people are forced into the streets starving. We all have seen a severe lack of proper healthcare infrastructure and planning to combat the pandemic. It feels like wherever one turns to there are so many things that are clearly wrong, and they continue to stay wrong. I am still learning and figuring out how to take a positive and constructive stance on such critical issues. Right now, the only take I strongly hold is that we need to treat every human being with dignity and respect. There should be no room or allowance for mistreatment of others for some personal ego boost or the false belief that self is better than the rest. We need to do better as a community to ensure everyone feels safe, feel that they have a voice, and that people have mechanisms to access correct information in this age of information overload. I honestly right now don’t know what I should do to ensure all this, but I am going to work to get to that point. I am going to start by educating myself on all these matters that we collectively face.
Educating myself and trying to do better – this thought is my adjustment to normal over the years. I have previously, naively believed if I didn’t bother people and if I respected people, then I was doing OK. The religious upbringing I grew up with taught me that if you see a wrong there are three ways to approach it. The best way is to fix it by action, second best to voice out against it, third best is to believe in your heart of hearts that it is a clear wrong and make sure you don’t ever fall into doing it yourself. Up until high school I think I followed the first two, by action or by active voice against whatever my young self felt was wrong. Then upon migrating, and enveloped in the fear almost all outsiders face, I settled with number three. Maybe, falling into this third way was initially also a personal thing. I didn’t feel like I fit in or that I belonged, and so I didn’t want to make noise in a place that I wasn’t going to be in for long. Like most foreigners, I believed I would definitely go back home because the bubble of what I thought the US is burst soon after I got here. Only after a few years, and through identification of where I could finally fit, I was following number three purely out of fear. Fear that if I did something, it might either not be safe or it might affect my chances of being able to settle here permanently, and that would jeopardize the career and life I had begun to love. This was the normal I lived in for years.
The same way in which the “self” matures, the normal around me appears to constantly change, and I need to constantly adjust it to stay afloat. My dadiya (dad) would always tell me “Change is the only thing that is constant.” It was also to some degree his way of also comforting himself, because we both know how hard of a time each one of us has with change. My mommiya (mom) changing home décor after I got back from school used to be painful. Aside from that, my mommiya’s strength in the face of all challenges in life is inspirational to me. Her patience and understanding for my outside the typical lifestyle (for a desi girl) is my source of strength. When I started research, it was the first time I began to feel like I can have a home somewhere. Doing internships, working in a lab, and starting a PhD allowed me to dream about doing what I enjoyed. The reason it felt more special was because it got me excited about the thought of having my family together in one place eventually. However, like all sudden twists in life, this normal didn’t last very long. My dadiya very unexpectedly and suddenly passed away, while I tried to figure out my complicated visa situation.
There are many different facets to one’s life. While a part of me was starting to feel happy doing research and get excited about eventually going home and seeing all my family together. There was also another part of me that felt some days were just heavier. I felt stuck and I missed going home to my dadiya. When I first felt that my unconscious response was to separate myself from these emotions, and to keep myself busy to the point that I couldn’t think about them. But once I realized what I was doing, I started talking more about them instead. My dadiya and I would often talk about things we would do together when we met. Things that people take for granted – have a morning tea on the balcony, eat a meal together, whine about the same weather, go grab a coffee, go for a walk, and maybe on that walk go check out the library for our shared loved of all things written. When he suddenly passed away, it got really difficult to accept anything as normal. Figuring out how to adjust seemed just too unrealistic. I could write a whole journal on the moments after, and how they never truly end. I could talk about my guilt of wanting to keep my current life intact instead of being there with him in his last moments. I could talk about how my family never quite recovered, and how we keep a count almost of all the things he’s missing out on. I could talk about how staying home in this pandemic forced me to confront my reality and find my space. But it’s important to realize that while we cannot control many things in life that are painful and that hurt, there are some that we can: We can choose to care for each other, choose to respect each other. Choose to allow this fear of darkness/uncertainty to engulf us or we can stand our ground holding each other strong through these times.
Everyone is always adjusting to a new normal at some level, today we are in a time where we all collectively have to adjust to a new normal for a tomorrow that is there and for one that is safe for us all. We can all do our part. We must do our part!
In the latest episode of Genetics Unzipped, Kat Arney brings you exclusive excerpts from her new book, Rebel Cell: Cancer, evolution and the science of life, exploring where cancer came from, where it’s going, and how we might beat it.
Senior scientist position available in the Human Cells, Tissues, and Organoids (hCTO) Core of the Center of Regenerative Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
This position will serve as the Director of the hCTO Core and will be responsible for the running of the Core; this includes, but is not limited to: maintaining and differentiating human pluripotent stem cells, adopting and developing new differentiation and organoid culture methods, coordinating with researchers on the use of the hCTO Core, maintaining and operating core equipment, maintaining ESCRO protocols, and participating in group and one-on-one training sessions.
CRITICAL SKILLS/EXPERTISE: Analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Demonstrated working knowledge of standard laboratory policies, procedures and equipment. Ability to communicate in oral and written form with all levels of personnel and technical publications. Must be able to work well independently or as a team member. Must have experience maintaining and differentiating human pluripotent stem cells.
Interest in developing new stem cell methods and/or FACS experience would be a plus.
MINIMUM EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Requires PhD, M.D. or equivalent terminal degree and at least 3 years of postdoctoral or relevant industry experience.
To apply visit jobs.wustl.edu and search for job ID 48071.
Questions may be addressed to Angela Bowman, PhD, Executive Director, Center of Regenerative Medicine at abowman@wustl.edu
My name is Alicia Ugenti and I am an undergraduate from Amherst College studying Biology and Sexuality, Women’s, and Gender Studies. Last year, I took a course in Developmental Biology and for the past three years, I have conducted research in the lab of Katerina Ragkousi, with my time now culminating into a thesis for partial completion of a Bachelors of Arts in biology with honors. I am using the embryos of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis to study how epithelia form during early development. With the ongoing lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my summer research stalled. The virtual SDB meeting provided me with the opportunity to broaden my knowledge about developmental biology and the recent breakthroughs in the field. As this was the first SDB meeting I attended, I expected to learn more about different developing organisms and hear first-hand from the people who are doing the research. I was very excited to learn about organoids, which is a new topic to me and one I hope to apply in my future career as a physician-scientist. This meeting has allowed me to consider my work in the future and prospects for which I am most passionate in developmental biology. Based on my research interests and my background, I have chosen to highlight the following talks:
In the Satellite Symposium: Emerging Leaders in Live Cell Imaging Approaches of Developmental Biology, Vanessa Barone from UC San Diego spoke about her research using sea stars and sea urchins to investigate the conserved connection between cell-cell contacts and nuclear β-catenin. Barone found that the number of large cell contacts positively correlates with nuclear localization of β-catenin levels in both sea stars and sea urchins. Erica Hutchins from the California Institute of Technology used chick embryos to investigate neural crest development and concluded that dynamic ribonucleoprotein granules found in the cell cytoplasm (P-bodies) control a developmental epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition program via post-transcriptional target degradation. Finally, Hidehiko Hashimoto from the University of Chicago discussed how the dynamic integration of cell-cell signaling, force generation, and tissue remodeling controls zippering and neural tube closure in ascidian embryos. Hashimoto found that during neural tube formation and closure, there is higher myosin activity along the entire Ne/Epi boundary (neural folds) ahead of the zipper and lower myosin behind the zipper.
During the Presidential Symposium, Nicole King from the University of California at Berkeley talked about how choanoflagellates can transition into an amoeboid state when under stress. Cells appear to retract the flagella and become motile in a myosin-dependent manner. This work implies that the evolution of animal amoeboid cells may have arisen from a stress-induced response that is hardwired in a post-transcriptional regulation program. Valentina Greco from Yale University discussed how modifying epithelial cell density in the skin of live adult mice triggers changes in the immune cell density, but not vice versa. This suggests that the immune tissue composition in the epidermis is influenced by epithelial cells. Epidermal immune cell patterning is organized and actively maintained in a tiling pattern. When LCs (Langerhans cells) are ectopically removed, neighboring epidermal LCs move into the emptied spaces and re-establish the pattern. The GTPase Rac1 is required for LCs to maintain their dendritic morphology, limited mobility, and tiling pattern. Overall, Greco’s lab discovered that during epidermal homeostasis, the spatial distribution of immune cells is highly regulated, at least in part by the epithelial stem cells.
I found the Special Interest Symposium: Confronting Bias in Scientific Culture, especially useful. Not only did it address how to pursue innovation in developmental biology,but it also encouraged me to think critically about my own role in changing the field and making it more inclusive. Mary Alice Scott from New Mexico State University spoke about cultural bias in science and how there are implicit lessons embedded in learning culture that are often unintended. Scott Gilbert from Swarthmore College spoke about the importance of establishing a culture of inclusive diversity and the importance of micro-affirmations, such as smiles, “good jobs,” engagement, and recognition of people who are under-represented inscience. Both speakers raised issues I have been thinking about especially while taking the Amherst College course ‘Being Human in STEM’. This course discusses the obstacles faced by STEM students of color and low-income and engages us in conversations about imposter syndrome, how our identity impacts our journey in STEM, and how important it is to make STEM inclusive starting at a young age.
Postdoctoral scientists presented their ground-breaking work in the Hilde Mangold Postdoctoral Symposium. A talk that particularly caught my interest was given by Zak Swartz, a postdoctoral fellow from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, who talked about the role of dishevelled in oocyte development of the sea star Patiria miniata. When dishevelled was knocked down, cells failed to gastrulate and upregulate the expression of WNT target genes. Swartz concluded that a cue at the vegetal pole of the oocyte must recruit Disheveled, which appears to colocalize with granules on Lamp1 positive endosomes.
In the Organoids: A Window to Developmental Processes session, we heard about the insights of organoids into liver and endometrium development. Sarah Saxton from the University of Washington showed how engineered liver tissues can replace damaged organs or compensate for the loss of function, and found that hepatoblast organoids can survive ectopic implantation and can produce human proteins that are measurable in the blood serum. This suggests that the grafts can integrate within the host vasculature and have good potential for a stable cell source for bioengineering. Mirna Marinic from The University of Chicago showed that using postpartum tissue is advantageous for forming endometrium organoids: it is technically easier to obtain, ethically less questionable and there are known pregnancy outcomes. Overall, personalized organoids engineered from different cell types can be used to study a variety of conditions.
In the Developmental Biology and Global Health session, we heard about the sexually transmitted ZIKA virus and a gene that causes infertility. Jennifer Watts, a Ph.D. candidate from Michigan State University showed how the sexually transmitted ZIKA virus affects inner cell mass fate in the zona-free blastocyst, thus making 2-cell embryos most susceptible. Maria Mikedis, a postdoctoral fellow from Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research talked about a gene that causes infertility in mice. The DAZL protein (a member of the DAZ proteins found in men and associated with spermatogenic failure when not expressed) affects genes that are critical for spermatogonial development as well as broad regulators of fundamental cellular processes, specifically transcription and splicing.
Two talks in the Seeing is Believing: Imaging Revolution session highlighted cochlear and notochord development. Elizabeth Driver from the Matthew Kelley National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the NIH spoke about how Myosin II plays a critical role in the developing mammalian cochlea. She concluded that the coupling of Myosin II and E-cadherin acts in a complementary manner to control the size of hair cells, thus supporting cells and the junctions between them in order to ensure proper patterning of the cochlear sensory epithelium. Marissa Gredler from the Sloan Kettering Institute presented her work on notochord development, describing how, in the first phase of convergent extension, cells move to the surface where they undergo a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, and then move to the second phase where they undergo convergent extension characterized by mediolateral intercalation, cell mixing, and lateral protrusive activity.
Among the interesting talks in the Endless Forms Most Beautiful: Role of Biodiversity in Developmental Biology session, Ahmet Karabulut, a predoctoral researcher from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, presented work on the venomous harpoons of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis,showing that the harpoons are formed by two substructures: a shaft and a tubule. Interestingly, the harpoon discharge occurs in three stages: capsule explosion, shaft eversion, and tubule movements into the prey. The elastic energy is released by the shaft eversion and is transferred to the tubule as kinetic energy.
The Award Lectures were truly inspiring. Brigid Hogan, from Duke University and recipient of the FASEB 2020 Excellence in Science Award, spoke about the obstacles she had to overcome as a woman joining the field of developmental biology in an under-developed department. Hogan went on to discuss her research where she made important discoveries in mouse development and concluded that Pax6 is a highly conserved regulator of eye development. Cagney Coomer, from The University of Kentucky and recipient of the Society for Developmental Biology SDB Trainee Science Communication Award, spoke about her humanitarian work and is the founder of “Nerd Squad.” The missions of “Nerd Squad” are to empower brown and black girls interested in STEM, to design and develop culturally relevant STEM curricula, and to engage schools and the community in hands-on STEM activities. Celina Juliano, from the University of California Davis and recipient of the SDB – Elizabeth D. Hay New Investigator Award, spoke about her work on Hydra, discussing how conserved injury response transcription factors directly activate WNT signaling. Jo Handelsman, from the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the recipient of the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize, spoke about her report to President Obama about the need for more STEM and STEM-literate college graduates. In trying to create more STEM inclusive classes for undergraduates, Handelsman helped create “Tiny Earth”. Its goal is to inspire students about the power of science, teach them about bacterial cells, aid the antibiotic resistance crisis by allowing students to participate in antibiotic discovery, and make it cheaper and more efficient for pharmaceutical companies. Ray Keller, from the University of Virginia and recipient of the Developmental Biology-SDB Lifetime Achievement Award, spoke about his path in developmental biology, his work on morphogenesis, especially in the biomechanics of convergent extension during gastrulation of Xenopus. Finally, Claude Desplan, from New York University and recipient of the Edwin G. Conklin Medal, spoke about his work on Drosophila neural cells.
In my opinion, the online SDB conference this year was great in being so accessible to undergraduate students, as we were able to go back and re-watch the recorded talks. I would recommend undergraduates to attend SDB in the future as long as presentations are recorded – it really helps to be able to re-watch them carefully in order to fully absorb the information. I found that some speakers used specialized language that made the material difficult to understand, yet others were easy to follow with clearly communicating slides and summary pages. I found some acronyms hard to follow, which made following the talks difficult: writing out the meaning of acronyms on the slide would be very helpful. All in all, it was a great experience to watch people present their research and share their passion for their work. Lastly, it was refreshing to also have presentations on important conversations we should be having on how to improve STEM, such as enhancing diversity and making science courses more accessible and inclusive.
I would like to thank the SDB and the meeting organizers for making undergraduate registration free of charge this year, and for providing access to the online recorded presentations. I would also like to thank the Node and Aidan Maartens for his comments on this write-up.
In the latest episode of Genetics Unzipped, Dr Kat Arney takes a look at the progress that’s been made in tackling rare genetic disorders (and the challenges that remain) and we hear from a prenatal genetic counsellor about how new tests are helping people carrying genetic variations make decisions about starting a family.
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Our lab investigates mechanisms of chromatin regulation in early mammalian development. We also study how chromatin regulation and other mechanisms are important for transposable element (TE) expression and function.
In the latest episode of Genetics Unzipped, Kat Arney brings you exclusive excerpts from her new book, Rebel Cell: Cancer, evolution and the science of life, exploring where cancer came from, where it’s going, and how we might beat it.