2012 Research Annual Report

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Developmental Biology

Developmental Biology

Division Details

Division Data Summary

Research and Training Details

Number of Faculty22
Number of Joint Appointment Faculty17
Number of Research Fellows51
Number of Research Students35
Number of Support Personnel36
Direct Annual Grant Support$7,184,191
Direct Annual Industry Support$77,000
Peer Reviewed Publications76

Clinical Activities and Training

Number of Clinical Staff0
Number of Clinical Fellows3
Number of Other Students15

Division Photo

Group photo of the Division of Developmental Biology

Row 1: R Waclaw, G Guasch, C Wylie, X Lin

Row 2: Y Lan, K Campbell, S Namekawa, S Brugmann

Row 3: S Dey, Y Yoshida, S Cha, R Stottmann, D Wiginton, M Nakafuku, J Wells

Row 4: R Jiang, C Mayhew, S Crone, V Kalinichenko, V Cleghon, A Zorn, M Kofron

Significant Accomplishments

Significant Accomplishments

Protecting the Public

With 27 certified specialists in poison information and 51 staff certified in national incident management systems, our Drug and Poison Information Center is one of the largest in the country. Our center serves 20 Ohio counties with a combined population of 3.7 million. Our center regularly collaborates with county, regional and statewide medical response and disaster preparedness programs, including planning for the World Choir Games held in Cincinnati in July 2012. Our Health Alert Network sent Alert faxes to 60 regional hospitals on subjects such as blue green algae in local rivers, “bath salts,”and prescription drug abuse. The Center’s Pharmacovigilance and Medical Communication Units continues to gather and evaluate poison control data on a variety of public health issues such as food poisoning, water quality, concentrated laundry single use detergents, alcohol sanitizers, substance abuse patterns and terrorism preparedness.

Community Outreach and Education

Our center continued to implement programming to promote healthy drug- free lifestyles to youth, parents and communities. Our staff includes prevention specialists, health educators, pharmacists, other health care professionals and law enforcement officers who serve as positive role models. Last year, more than 27,000 people in Hamilton County have benefited from services including delinquency prevention and violence prevention issues among African-American youth populations. Our center also was significantly involved with Police Chief James Craig’s Children in Trauma Intervention Camp. We also use a People of Color Wellness Alliance Coalition Grant and a Grassroots Urban Mobilization Benefiting Ohio initiative to respond to health disparities and wellness issues prevalent among African American and other minorities in Hamilton County. Our Center also was honored by a visit from the national “Drug Czar” Gil Kerlikowske, who held a press conference here to announce the nation’s new drug policy. The Center also was awarded a UC College of Pharmacy Training Fellowship to host a pharmacy student for the summer.

Staff Recognition

Prevention and education specialist Alton “Chris” Nelms, PhD, was honored with the 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award from Cincinnati Children’s. Julienne Closser and Michelle Bilinski earned specialist certification through the American Association of Poison Control Center and Sheila Goertemoeller received the highest grade nationwide on the association’s annual exam.

Significant Publications

Han, J., Miranda-Saavedra, D., Luebbering, N., Singh, A., Sibbet, G., Ferguson, M. A. and Cleghon, V.   Deep evolutionary conservation of an intramolecular protein kinase activation mechanism. PLoS One 7(1): e29702.. 2012.
DYRKs (Dual Specificity Tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated Kinases) are a family of enzymes that are important in both normal development and disease. Their activity is interesting in that they act as kinases twice, first to activate themselves, and then to exert their functions. This paper is a careful study that follows the evolution of the DYRKs from their origins in early metazoa to present day organisms, and shows just how ancient this recently discovered two-step kinase activity is.
Li-Kroeger, D., Cook, T. A., Gebelein, B. Integration of an abdominal Hox complex with Pax2 yields cell-specific EGF secretion from Drosophila sensory precursor cells. Development 139(9): 1611-9. 2012.
DYRKs (Dual Specificity Tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated Kinases) are a family of enzymes that are important in both normal development and disease. Their activity is interesting in that they act as kinases twice, first to activate themselves, and then to exert their functions. This paper is a careful study that follows the evolution of the DYRKs from their origins in early metazoa to present day organisms, and shows just how ancient this recently discovered two-step kinase activity is.
Bush, J. O. and Jiang, R. Palatogenesis: morphogenetic and molecular mechanisms of secondary palate development. Development 139(2): 231-43. 2012.
This was a highly topical review article which described and discussed recent advances (many from the authors’ labs) in the formation of the hard palate. Despite the fact that cleft palate is a major morphogenetic disorder in humans, there has been little detailed molecular information of the mechanism of its normal morphogenesis. This has changed dramatically in recent years due to discoveries of genes involved in the process, and their genetic targeting in the mouse.
Dahia, C. L., Mahoney, E. and Wylie, C. . Shh signaling from the nucleus pulposus is required for the postnatal growth and differentiation of the mouse intervertebral disc. PLoS One 7(4): e35944. 2012.
Degenerative disc disease is a major clinical problem that affects some one in seven people, and for which there is no real cure. This paper describes the finding that the signaling protein Sonic hedgehog (Shh) controls growth and differentiation of the intervertebral disc in the mouse. This will provide a mechanistic basis for the development of biological therapies for age-related changes in the disc. It also provides an understanding, for the first time, of how intervertebral discs grow and differentiate.
Leslie, J. R., Imai, F., Fukuhara, K., Takegahara, N., Rizvi, T. A., Friedel, R. H., Wang, F., Kumanogoh, A. and Yoshida, Y. Ectopic myelinating oligodendrocytes in the dorsal spinal cord as a consequence of altered semaphorin 6D signaling inhibit synapse formation.Development 138(18): 4085-95. 2011.
Degenerative disc disease is a major clinical problem that affects some one in seven people, and for which there is no real cure. This paper describes the finding that the signaling protein Sonic hedgehog (Shh) controls growth and differentiation of the intervertebral disc in the mouse. This will provide a mechanistic basis for the development of biological therapies for age-related changes in the disc. It also provides an understanding, for the first time, of how intervertebral discs grow and differentiate.

Division Publications

Division Publications

  1. Basu RK, Standage SW, Cvijanovich NZ, Allen GL, Thomas NJ, Freishtat RJ, Anas N, Meyer K, Checchia PA, Lin R, Shanley TP, Bigham MT, Wheeler DS, Devarajan P, Goldstein SL, Wong HR. Identification of candidate serum biomarkers for severe septic shock-associated kidney injury via microarray. Crit Care. 2011; 15:R273.
  2. Bennett MR, Piyaphanee N, Czech K, Mitsnefes M, Devarajan P. NGAL distinguishes steroid sensitivity in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol. 2012; 27:807-12.
  3. Bolte C, Zhang Y, Wang IC, Kalin TV, Molkentin JD, Kalinichenko VV. Expression of Foxm1 transcription factor in cardiomyocytes is required for myocardial development. PLoS One. 2011; 6:e22217.
  4. Brunskill EW, Georgas K, Rumballe B, Little MH, Potter SS. Defining the molecular character of the developing and adult kidney podocyte. PLoS One. 2011; 6:e24640.
  5. Brunskill EW, Sequeira-Lopez MLS, Pentz ES, Lin E, Yu J, Aronow BJ, Potter SS, Gomez RA. Genes that confer the identity of the renin cell. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2011; 22:2213-2225.
  6. Burns KA, Gutzwiller LM, Tomoyasu Y, Gebelein B. Oenocyte development in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Dev Genes Evol. 2012; 222:77-88.
  7. Bush JO, Jiang R. Palatogenesis: morphogenetic and molecular mechanisms of secondary palate development. Development. 2012; 139:231-43.
  8. Cha J, Hirota Y, Dey SK. Sensing senescence in preterm birth. Cell Cycle. 2012; 11:205-6.
  9. Cha SW, Tadjuidje E, Wylie C, Heasman J. The roles of maternal Vangl2 and aPKC in Xenopus oocyte and embryo patterning. Development. 2011; 138:3989-4000.
  10. Chang C, Hsieh YW, Lesch BJ, Bargmann CI, Chuang CF. Microtubule-based localization of a synaptic calcium-signaling complex is required for left-right neuronal asymmetry in C. elegans. Development. 2011; 138:3509-18.
  11. Charlton-Perkins M, Brown NL, Cook TA. The lens in focus: a comparison of lens development in Drosophila and vertebrates. Mol Genet Genomics. 2011; 286:189-213.
  12. Chiu H, Alqadah A, Chuang CF, Chang C. C. elegans as a genetic model to identify novel cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system regeneration. Cell Adh Migr. 2011; 5:387-94.
  13. Czech KA, Bennett M, Devarajan P. Distinct metalloproteinase excretion patterns in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Pediatr Nephrol. 2011; 26:2179-84.
  14. Dahia CL, Mahoney E, Wylie C. Shh signaling from the nucleus pulposus is required for the postnatal growth and differentiation of the mouse intervertebral disc. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e35944.
  15. Daikoku T, Cha J, Sun X, Tranguch S, Xie H, Fujita T, Hirota Y, Lydon J, DeMayo F, Maxson R, Dey SK. Conditional deletion of Msx homeobox genes in the uterus inhibits blastocyst implantation by altering uterine receptivity. Dev Cell. 2011; 21:1014-25.
  16. Dixit R, Zimmer C, Waclaw RR, Mattar P, Shaker T, Kovach C, Logan C, Campbell K, Guillemot F, Schuurmans C. Ascl1 participates in cajal-retzius cell development in the neocortex. Cerebral Cortex. 2011; 21:2599-2611.
  17. Du A, McCracken KW, Walp ER, Terry NA, Klein TJ, Han A, Wells JM, May CL. Arx is required for normal enteroendocrine cell development in mice and humans. Dev Biol. 2012; 365:175-188.
  18. Dyment NA, Kazemi N, Aschbacher-Smith LE, Barthelery NJ, Kenter K, Gooch C, Shearn JT, Wylie C, Butler DL. The relationships among spatiotemporal collagen gene expression, histology, and biomechanics following full-length injury in the murine patellar tendon. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2012; 30:28-36.
  19. Gilbert S, Zhang R, Denson L, Moriggl R, Steinbrecher K, Shroyer N, Lin J, Han X. Enterocyte STAT5 promotes mucosal wound healing via suppression of myosin light chain kinase-mediated loss of barrier function and inflammation. EMBO Mol Med. 2012; 4:109-24.
  20. Gu Y, Runyan C, Shoemaker A, Surani MA, Wylie C. Membrane-bound steel factor maintains a high local concentration for mouse primordial germ cell motility, and defines the region of their migration. PLoS One. 2011; 6:e25984.
  21. Han J, Miranda-Saavedra D, Luebbering N, Singh A, Sibbet G, Ferguson MA, Cleghon V. Deep evolutionary conservation of an intramolecular protein kinase activation mechanism. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e29702.
  22. Harding SD, Armit C, Armstrong J, Brennan J, Cheng Y, Haggarty B, Houghton D, Lloyd-MacGilp S, Pi X, Roochun Y, Sharghi M, Tindal C, McMahon AP, Gottesman B, Little MH, Georgas K, Aronow BJ, Potter SS, Brunskill EW, Southard-Smith EM, Mendelsohn C, Baldock RA, Davies JA, Davidson D. The GUDMAP database--an online resource for genitourinary research. Development. 2011; 138:2845-53.
  23. He F, Ren J, Wang W, Ma J. Evaluating the Drosophila Bicoid morphogen gradient system through dissecting the noise in transcriptional bursts. Bioinformatics. 2012; 28:970-5.
  24. Hirota Y, Cha J, Yoshie M, Daikoku T, Dey SK. Heightened uterine mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling provokes preterm birth in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108:18073-8.
  25. Hochheiser H, Aronow BJ, Artinger K, Beaty TH, Brinkley JF, Chai Y, Clouthier D, Cunningham ML, Dixon M, Donahue LR, Fraser SE, Hallgrimsson B, Iwata J, Klein O, Marazita ML, Murray JC, Murray S, de Villena FPM, Postlethwait J, Potter S, Shapiro L, Spritz R, Visel A, Weinberg SM, Trainor PA. The FaceBase Consortium: A comprehensive program to facilitate craniofacial research. Dev Biol. 2011; 355:175-182.
  26. Howell JC, Wells JM. Generating intestinal tissue from stem cells: potential for research and therapy. Regen Med. 2011; 6:743-55.
  27. Ichijima Y, Sin HS, Namekawa SH. Sex chromosome inactivation in germ cells: emerging roles of DNA damage response pathways. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2012; 69:2559-72.
  28. Kavanaugh GM, Wise-Draper TM, Morreale RJ, Morrison MA, Gole B, Schwemberger S, Tichy ED, Lu L, Babcock GF, Wells JM, Drissi R, Bissler JJ, Stambrook PJ, Andreassen PR, Wiesmüller L, Wells SI. The human DEK oncogene regulates DNA damage response signaling and repair. Nucleic Acids Research. 2011; 39:7465-7476.
  29. Kazanjian A, Shroyer NF. NOTCH Signaling and ATOH1 in Colorectal Cancers. Curr Colorectal Cancer Rep. 2011; 7:121-127.
  30. Kim J, Oh WJ, Gaiano N, Yoshida Y, Gu C. Semaphorin 3E-Plexin-D1 signaling regulates VEGF function in developmental angiogenesis via a feedback mechanism. Genes Dev. 2011; 25:1399-411.
  31. Kohli V, Rehn K, Sumanas S. Single cell fate mapping in zebrafish. J Vis Exp. 2011; :e3172.
  32. Krawczeski CD, Goldstein SL, Woo JG, Wang Y, Piyaphanee N, Ma Q, Bennett M, Devarajan P. Temporal relationship and predictive value of urinary acute kidney injury biomarkers after pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011; 58:2301-9.
  33. Le TT, Conley KW, Mead TJ, Rowan S, Yutzey KE, Brown NL. Requirements for Jag1-Rbpj mediated Notch signaling during early mouse lens development. Dev Dyn. 2012; 241:493-504.
  34. Lenton K, James AW, Manu A, Brugmann SA, Birker D, Nelson ER, Leucht P, Helms JA, Longaker MT. Indian hedgehog positively regulates calvarial ossification and modulates bone morphogenetic protein signaling. Genesis. 2011; 49:784-96.
  35. Leslie JR, Imai F, Fukuhara K, Takegahara N, Rizvi TA, Friedel RH, Wang F, Kumanogoh A, Yoshida Y. Ectopic myelinating oligodendrocytes in the dorsal spinal cord as a consequence of altered semaphorin 6D signaling inhibit synapse formation. Development. 2011; 138:4085-95.
  36. Li-Kroeger D, Cook TA, Gebelein B. Integration of an abdominal Hox complex with Pax2 yields cell-specific EGF secretion from Drosophila sensory precursor cells. Development. 2012; 139:1611-9.
  37. Liu CF, Aschbacher-Smith L, Barthelery NJ, Dyment N, Butler D, Wylie C. Spatial and temporal expression of molecular markers and cell signals during normal development of the mouse patellar tendon. Tissue Eng Part A. 2012; 18:598-608.
  38. Liu Y, Sadikot RT, Adami GR, Kalinichenko VV, Pendyala S, Natarajan V, Zhao YY, Malik AB. FoxM1 mediates the progenitor function of type II epithelial cells in repairing alveolar injury induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2011; 208:1473-1484.
  39. Lu TX, Hartner J, Lim EJ, Fabry V, Mingler MK, Cole ET, Orkin SH, Aronow BJ, Rothenberg ME. MicroRNA-21 limits in vivo immune response-mediated activation of the IL-12/IFN-gamma pathway, Th1 polarization, and the severity of delayed-type hypersensitivity. J Immunol. 2011; 187:3362-73.
  40. Lu TX, Sherrill JD, Wen T, Plassard AJ, Besse JA, Abonia JP, Franciosi JP, Putnam PE, Eby M, Martin LJ, Aronow BJ, Rothenberg ME. MicroRNA signature in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis, reversibility with glucocorticoids, and assessment as disease biomarkers. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012; 129:1064-75 e9.
  41. Lynch JM, Maillet M, Vanhoutte D, Schloemer A, Sargent MA, Blair NS, Lynch KA, Okada T, Aronow BJ, Osinska H, Prywes R, Lorenz JN, Mori K, Lawler J, Robbins J, Molkentin JD. A Thrombospondin-Dependent Pathway for a Protective ER Stress Response. Cell. 2012; 149:1257-68.
  42. Ma J. Transcriptional activators and activation mechanisms. Protein Cell. 2011; 2:879-88.
  43. Matsuoka R, Chivatakarn O, Badea T, Samuels I, Cahill H, Katayama KI, Kumar SR, Suto F, Chédotal A, Peachey N, Nathans J, Yoshida Y, Giger R, Kolodkin A. Class 5 transmembrane semaphorins control selective mammalian retinal lamination and function. Neuron. 2011; 71:460-473.
  44. McCracken KW, Howell JC, Wells JM, Spence JR. Generating human intestinal tissue from pluripotent stem cells in vitro. Nat Protoc. 2011; 6:1920-8.
  45. Nandadasa S, Tao Q, Shoemaker A, Cha SW, Wylie C. Regulation of Classical Cadherin Membrane Expression and F-Actin Assembly by Alpha-Catenins, during Xenopus Embryogenesis. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e38756.
  46. Noah TK, Donahue B, Shroyer NF. Intestinal development and differentiation. Exp Cell Res. 2011; 317:2702-10.
  47. Palencia-Desai S, Kohli V, Kang J, Chi NC, Black BL, Sumanas S. Vascular endothelial and endocardial progenitors differentiate as cardiomyocytes in the absence of Etsrp/Etv2 function. Development. 2011; 138:4721-32.
  48. Plantier L, Besnard V, Xu Y, Ikegami M, Wert SE, Hunt AN, Postle AD, Whitsett JA. Activation of sterol-response element-binding proteins (SREBP) in alveolar type II cells enhances lipogenesis causing pulmonary lipotoxicity. J Biol Chem. 2012; 287:10099-114.
  49. Ponferrada VG, Fan J, Vallance JE, Hu S, Mamedova A, Rankin SA, Kofron M, Zorn AM, Hegde RS, Lang RA. CRIM1 complexes with ss-catenin and cadherins, stabilizes cell-cell junctions and is critical for neural morphogenesis. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e32635.
  50. Potter SS, Brunskill EW. Laser capture. Methods Mol Biol. 2012; 886:211-21.
  51. Potter SS, Brunskill EW, Patterson LT. Defining the genetic blueprint of kidney development. Pediatr Nephrol. 2011; 26:1469-78.
  52. Powder KE, Ku YC, Brugmann SA, Veile RA, Renaud NA, Helms JA, Lovett M. A cross-species analysis of microRNAs in the developing avian face. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e35111.
  53. Rehn K, Wong KS, Balciunas D, Sumanas S. Zebrafish enhancer trap line recapitulates embryonic aquaporin 1a expression pattern in vascular endothelial cells. Int J Dev Biol. 2011; 55:613-8.
  54. Saravanamuthu SS, Le TT, Gao CY, Cojocaru RI, Pandiyan P, Liu C, Zhang J, Zelenka PS, Brown NL. Conditional ablation of the Notch2 receptor in the ocular lens. Dev Biol. 2012; 362:219-229.
  55. Sin HS, Ichijima Y, Koh E, Namiki M, Namekawa SH. Human postmeiotic sex chromatin and its impact on sex chromosome evolution. Genome Res. 2012; 22:827-36.
  56. Softic S, Kirby M, Berger NG, Shroyer NF, Woods SC, Kohli R. Insulin Concentration Modulates Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in Mice in Part via Transcriptional Regulation of Fatty Acid Transport Proteins. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e38952.
  57. Srinivasan R, Ozhegov E, van den Berg YW, Aronow BJ, Franco RS, Palascak MB, Fallon JT, Ruf W, Versteeg HH, Bogdanov VY. Splice variants of tissue factor promote monocyte-endothelial interactions by triggering the expression of cell adhesion molecules via integrin-mediated signaling. J Thromb Haemost. 2011; 9:2087-96.
  58. Stottmann RW, Moran JL, Turbe-Doan A, Driver E, Kelley M, Beier DR. Focusing forward genetics: a tripartite ENU screen for neurodevelopmental mutations in the mouse. Genetics. 2011; 188:615-24.
  59. Stottmann RW, Turbe-Doan A, Tran P, Kratz LE, Moran JL, Kelley RI, Beier DR. Cholesterol metabolism is required for intracellular hedgehog signal transduction in vivo. PLoS Genet. 2011; 7:e1002224.
  60. Sun X, Zhang L, Xie H, Wan H, Magella B, Whitsett JA, Dey SK. Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) is critical for conferring uterine receptivity to implantation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012; 109:1145-50.
  61. Sun YY, Yang D, Kuan CY. Mannitol-facilitated perfusion staining with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) for detection of experimental cerebral infarction and biochemical analysis. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 2012; 203:122-129.
  62. Tadjuidje E, Cha SW, Louza M, Wylie C, Heasman J. The functions of maternal Dishevelled 2 and 3 in the Early Xenopus embryo. Developmental Dynamics. 2011; 240:1727-1736.
  63. Tadjuidje E, Wang TS, Pandey RN, Sumanas S, Lang RA, Hegde RS. The EYA tyrosine phosphatase activity is pro-angiogenic and is inhibited by benzbromarone. PLoS One. 2012; 7:e34806.
  64. Tang X, Wu Y, Belenkaya TY, Huang Q, Ray L, Qu J, Lin X. Roles of N-glycosylation and lipidation in Wg secretion and signaling. Dev Biol. 2012; 364:32-41.
  65. Teissier A, Griveau A, Waclaw RR, Campbell K. Tangentially migrating transient glutamatergic neurons control neurogenesis and maintenance of cerebral cortical progenitor pools.. Cerebral Cortex. 2012; 22:403-416.
  66. Terrell D, Xie B, Workman M, Mahato S, Zelhof A, Gebelein B, Cook T. OTX2 and CRX rescue overlapping and photoreceptor-specific functions in the Drosophila eye. Developmental Dynamics. 2012; 241:215-228.
  67. Thomas HE, Mercer CA, Carnevalli LS, Park J, Andersen JB, Conner EA, Tanaka K, Matsutani T, Iwanami A, Aronow BJ, Manway L, Maira SM, Thorgeirsson SS, Mischel PS, Thomas G, Kozma SC. mTOR Inhibitors Synergize on Regression, Reversal of Gene Expression, and Autophagy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Sci Transl Med. 2012; 4:139ra84.
  68. van Berlo JH, Elrod JW, Aronow BJ, Pu WT, Molkentin JD. Serine 105 phosphorylation of transcription factor GATA4 is necessary for stress-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108:12331-6.
  69. Varisco BM, Ambalavanan N, Whitsett JA, Hagood JS. Thy-1 Signals through PPARgamma to Promote Lipofibroblast Differentiation in the Developing Lung. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2012; 46:765-72.
  70. Whitsett JA, Kalinichenko VV. Integrin α6β4 defines a novel lung epithelial progenitor cell: A step forward for cell-based therapies for pulmonary disease. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2011; 121:2543-2545.
  71. Whitsett JA, Kalinichenko VV. Notch and basal cells take center stage during airway epithelial regeneration. Cell Stem Cell. 2011; 8:597-598.
  72. Wong KS, Rehn K, Palencia-Desai S, Kohli V, Hunter W, Uhl JD, Rost MS, Sumanas S. Hedgehog signaling is required for differentiation of endocardial progenitors in zebrafish. Dev Biol. 2012; 361:377-91.
  73. Wu Q, Song R, Ortogero N, Zheng H, Evanoff R, Small CL, Griswold MD, Namekawa SH, Royo H, Turner JM, Yan W. The RNase III enzyme DROSHA is essential for microRNA production and spermatogenesis. J Biol Chem. 2012; 287:25173-90.
  74. Yoshida Y. Semaphorin signaling in vertebrate neural circuit assembly. Front Mol Neurosci. 2012; 5:71.
  75. Zhou B, Wu Y, Lin X. Retromer regulates apical-basal polarity through recycling Crumbs. Dev Biol. 2011; 360:87-95.
  76. Zou Y, Chiu H, Domenger D, Chuang CF, Chang C. The lin-4 MicroRNA Targets the LIN-14 Transcription Factor to Inhibit Netrin-Mediated Axon Attraction. Sci Signal. 2012; 5:ra43.

Faculty, Staff, and Trainees

Faculty Members

Christopher C. Wylie, PhD, Professor
Leadership Director; Associate Chair for Basic Science
Research Interests Early Vertebrate Development, Xenopus, Mammal
Nadean Brown, PhD, Associate Professor
Research Interests Eye Development, Mouse And Drosophila
Kenneth Campbell, PhD, Professor
Leadership Associate Director
Research Interests CNS Patterning, Mammal
Chieh Chang, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Nervous System, C. Elegans
Chiou-Fen Chuang, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Nervous System, C. Elegans, Laterality
Vaughn Cleghon, PhD, Associate Professor
Research Interests Kinase Function In Development, Signaling
Brian Gebelein, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Transcriptional Regulation, Drosophila, Body Patterning, Nervous System
Geraldine Guasch, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Stem Cells in Epithelial Tissues and Their Role in Tumorigenesis, Transitional Epithelium and Anorectal Malformations
Janet Heasman, PhD, Professor
Research Interests Early Vertebrate Development, Xenopus
Rashmi S. Hegde, PhD, Professor
Leadership Director, Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program
Research Interests Protein Structure/Function
Rulang Jiang, PhD, Professor
Research Interests Genetic Basis and Developmental Mechanisms of Structural Birth Defects; Mammalian Organogenesis
J. Matthew Kofron, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Imaging Manager, Ectodermal Organ Development In Vertebrates, Xenopus
Chia-Yi Kuan, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Research Interests Nervous System Patterning, Stroke, Cell Death, Mammal
James L. Lessard, PhD, Professor
Research Interests Muscle Development, Mammal
Hung-Chi Liang, PhD, Instructor
Research Interests Affymetrix Core Manager
Xinhua Lin, PhD, Professor
Research Interests Cell Signaling, Drosophila
Christopher Mayhew, PhD, Assistant Professor
Leadership Co-Director, Stem Cell Core
Research Interests Human ES Biology and Differentiation
Masato Nakafuku, MD, PhD, Professor
Research Interests Nervous System Patterning And Stem Cells, Mammal
S. Steven Potter, PhD, Professor
Leadership Director, Affymetrix Core
Research Interests Transcription Regulation And Kidney Development, Mammal
Saulius Sumanas, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Vascular Development, Zebrafish
James M. Wells, PhD, Associate Professor
Leadership Co-Director, Stem Cell Core
Research Interests Vertebrate Gut Development, Stem Cells, Mammal
Dan A. Wiginton, PhD, Associate Professor
Research Interests Gut Differentiation, Mammal
Yutaka Yoshida, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Nervous System, Cell Migration, Mammal, Chicken
Aaron Zorn, PhD, Associate Professor
Research Interests Vertebrate Gut Development, Xenopus, Mammal

Joint Appointment Faculty Members

Bruce Aronow, PhD, Professor (Pediatric Bioinformatics)
Research Interests Bioinformatics
Samantha Brugmann, PhD, Assistant Professor (Plastic Surgery)
Research Interests Molecular Basis for Craniofacial Development and Disease
Tiffany Cook, PhD, Assistant Professor (Pediatric Ophthalmology)
Research Interests Eye Development, Drosophila
Sudhansu Dey, PhD, Professor (Director, Reproductive Sciences)
Research Interests Reproductive Biology
Prasad Devarajan, MD, Professor (Director, Nephrology and Hypertension)
Research Interests Urinary Tract Differentiation, Mammal
Vladimir Kalinichenko, MD PhD, Associate Professor (Pulmonary Biology and Neonatology)
Research Interests Transcriptional Regulation of Lung Embryonic Development
Yu Lan, PhD, Associate Professor (Plastic Surgery)
Research Interests Genetic Control of Craniofacial Development, Mutant Mouse Models
Richard A. Lang, PhD, Professor (Director, Transgenic Core Facility, Pediatric Opthalmology)
Research Interests Visual System Development, Mammal
Jun Ma, PhD, Professor (Pediatric Bioinformatics)
Research Interests Transcriptional Regulation, Drosophila
Satoshi Namekawa, PhD, Assistant Professor (Reproductive Sciences)
Research Interests Germ Cells, Epigenetics, Reproduction, Mouse
Joo-Seop Park, PhD, Assistant Professor (Urology)
Research Interests Molecular Biology; Genetics
Noah F. Shroyer, PhD, Assistant Professor (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition)
Research Interests Vertebrate Gut Development, Mammal
Rolf Stottmann, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research Interests Genetic Approaches to Understanding Human Congenital Defects Affecting the Face and Forebrain.
Ronald Waclaw, PhD, Assistant Professor (Experimental Hematology)
Research Interests Forebrain Progenitor Cell Differentiation
Jeffrey A. Whitsett, MD, Professor (Chief, Section of Neonatology, Perinatal, and Pulmonary Biology)
Research Interests Respiratory System, Mammal

Trainees

  • Chitra Dahia*, PhD, Facult, Indian Institute of Science
  • Jason Spence, PhD, Facult, Miami University (end 9/30/11)
  • Kei-Ichi Katayama, PhD, DVM, Vis Re, University of Tokyo
  • Eui Kyun Park, PhD, Vis Re, Kyunpook National University
  • Masaki Ueno, PhD, Vis Ob, Osaka University
  • Tatyana Belenkaya, PhD, Res. A, Russian Academy of Science
  • Eric Brunskill, PhD, Res. A, University of Maryland
  • Kevin Burns, PhD, Res. A, University of Cincinnati
  • Sang-Wook Cha, PhD, Res. A, Kyungpook National University, Korea
  • Bharesh Chauhan*, PhD, Res. A, Oxford University, United Kingdom
  • Eunah Chung, PhD, Res. A, Cornell University
  • Christina James-Zorn, PhD, Res. A, University of Queenland, Australia
  • Junbo Lui*, PhD, Res. A, Fudan University
  • Athanasia Nikolaou, PhD, Res. A, University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Taeko Noah*, PhD, Res. A, University of Nevada
  • Timothy Plageman*, PhD, Res. A, University of Cincinnati
  • Virgilio Ponferrada, PhD, Res. A, Wright State University
  • Sujata Rao*, PhD, Res. A, Cornell University
  • Emmanuel Tadjuidje, PhD, Res. A, University of Goettengen, Germany
  • Huirong Xie*, PhD, Res. A, Vanderbilt University
  • Dianer Yang, PhD, Res. A, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Sivan Bezalel*, PhD, Res. F, University Medical School, Isreal
  • Yuqi Cai, PhD, Res. F, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Taiwan (end 8/26/11)
  • Ching-Fang Chang, PhD, Res. F, University of Alabama
  • Zheng Chen, PhD, Res. F, University of Groningen, Germany (end 8/26/11)
  • Tarsis Ferreira, PhD, Res. F, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Amy Gresser, PhD, Res. F, Harvard University
  • Yi-Wen Hsieh, PhD, Res. F, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Fumiyasu Imai, PhD, Res. F, Yokohama City University of Medicine, Japan
  • Shihai Jia, PhD, Res. F, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, China
  • Maximiliano Jimenez-Dalmaroni, PhD, Res. F, University of Oxford, UK
  • Avedis Kazanjian*, PhD, Res. F, University of Louisville
  • Vikram Kohli, PhD, Res. F, University of Alberta, Canada
  • Chia-Feng Liu, PhD, Res. F, University of Chicago at Urbana
  • Han Liu, PhD, Res. F, University of Rochester
  • Alejandro Lopez Juarez, PhD, Res. F, University of Mexico
  • Mayur Madhavan, PhD, Res. F, Miami University
  • Sumathra Manokaran, PhD, Res. F, North Dakota State University (8/31/11)
  • Paloma Merchan Sala, PhD, Res. F, University of Murcia, Spain
  • Myung-Soon Moon, PhD, Res. F, University of Wisconsin-Madison (end 1/14/12)
  • Jorge Munera, PhD, Res. F, University of California, San Diego
  • Sumeda Nandadasa, PhD, Res. F, University of Cincinnati (end 3/30/12)
  • Anna Raines, PhD, Res. F, University of Wisconsin
  • Latasha Redmond, PhD, Res. F, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Kaushik Roychoudhury, PhD, Res. F, Jadaypur University, India
  • Emily Shifley, PhD, Res. F, Ohio State University
  • Xiaofei Sun*, PhD, Res. F, Vanderbilt University
  • Yu-Yo Sun, PhD, Res. F, Taipei Medial University, Taiwan
  • Jun Tang, PhD, Res. F, Third Military Medical University, China (end 1/27/12)
  • Jennifer Tucker, PhD, Res. F, University of Pennsylvania
  • Marcin Wlizla, PhD, Res. F, University of Chicago
  • Baotang Xie*, PhD, Res. F, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Jingyue Xu, PhD, Res. F, Nanjing University, China
  • Eun-Jin Yeo*, PhD, Res. F, Seoul National University, South Korea
  • Jing Zhou, PhD, Res. F, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, China
  • Yan Zou, PhD, Res. F, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Jonathan Howell, MD PhD, Clin., Indiana University
  • Alan Kenny, MD PhD, Clin., University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry
  • Andrea Pardo, MD, Clin., Johns Hopkins University
  • Douglas Brown*, , Grad., University of Cincinnati - College of Medicine
  • Marion Brusadelli, , Grad. , Luminy University, France
  • Michael Craig, , Grad. , University of Cincinnati
  • Pauline Fritsch, , Grad., Luminy University, France
  • Hanane Yahia, , Grad., University of Paris Diderot, France
  • Brittany Bayne, , Underg, University of Cincinnati
  • Kalyn Campbell, , Underg, Xavier University (end 5/1/12)
  • Claudia Carrelli, , Underg, University of Cincinnati
  • Matthew Carter, , Underg, Miami University, Oxford, OH
  • Yanne Doucet, , Underg, University of Mediterranee, France (end 8/10/12)
  • Abigail Evans, , Underg, Ohio State University
  • Arif Ghasletwala, , Underg, University of Cincinnati
  • Matthew Grazyk, , Underg, Xavier University
  • Rachel Helping, , Underg, University of Cincinnati (end 6/1/12)
  • Tiffany Hoang, , Underg, California State University - Fullerton (PSTP Summer Student)
  • Sarah Kastner, , Underg, Cincinnati State
  • Doug Meyer, , Underg, College of Mount St. Joseph (end 12/13/11)
  • Mosep Okonny, , Underg, University of Cincinnati
  • Alyna Williams, , Underg, University of Cincinnati
  • Blair Wissel, , Underg, Xavier University

Division Collaboration

Human Genetics » Rolf Stottmann
A translational approach towards the identification of causative genetic elements for ciliopathies with Samantha Brugmann
Ophthalmology » Zubair Ahmed
Conservation of photoreceptor development - from flies to humans with Tiffany Cook
Biomedical Informatics » Anil Jegga
Development with Respect to Endocannabinoid Signaling   with SK Dey
Endocrinology » Stuart Handwerger
Role of Endocannabinoid in Uterine Decidualization with SK Dey
Molecular Immunology » Senad Divanovic
Role of Endocannabinoid in Preterm Birth with SK Dey
Pulmonary Biology » Jeff Whitsett
Role of KLF5 in Uterine Biology and Implantation with SK Dey
Plastic Surgery » Samantha Bruggmann
Generating Human Intestinal Organoids with an ENS with Jim Wells
Ophthalmology » Tiffany Cook
Determining the molecular interactions underlying cell-specific gene expression in the peripheral nervous system with Brian Gebelein
Immunobiology » H. Leighton Grimes
Assessing the role of Hox and Gfi-1 antagonism in regulating microRNA expression and blood cell proliferation during hematopoiesis and leukemia progression with Brian Gebelein
Ophthalmology » Tiffany Cook
Transcriptional control of cell type specification during Drosophila neurogenesis with Brian Gebelein
Colorectal Center; Urology » Marc Levitt, Alberto Pena, and Shumyle Alam
Using the Shh knock out mouse model to investigate the mechanism of persistent cloaca in human with Geraldine Guasch
Experimental Hematology » Ronald Waclaw
Studies on oligodendrocyte development in the telencephalon with Masato Nakafuku
Molecular Immunology » Senad Divanovic
Studies on the role of adult neurogenesis in obesity with Masato Nakfuku
Reproductive Sciences » SK Dey
To characterize reproductive defects in Hox mutant mice   with Steve Potter
Plastic Surgery » Samantha Brugmann
Generating Human Intestinal Organoids with an ENS with Jim Wells
Urology » Joo-Seop Park
Transcriptome analysis of wnt signaling in liver development  with Aaron Zorn

Grants, Contracts, and Industry Agreements

Division Grants

Grant and Contract AwardsAnnual Direct

Brown, N

Investigation of Mammalian Retinal Neuron Development
R01 EY 01361208/01/09-12/31/11$213,840

Campbell, K

Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Formation of Basal Ganglia Circuitry
R01 MH 09074004/01/10-01/31/15$247,500
Roles of Gsh1 & Gsh2 in Telencephalic Neurogenesis
R01 NS 04408007/01/08-06/30/13$214,375

Chang, C

Understanding MicroRNA Mechanisms for Age-Related Decline in Neuronal Regeneration
10/01/09-09/15/13$71,338
Understanding MicroRNA Mechanisms for Developmental Decline in Axon Growth Ability
06/01/10-05/31/13$58,933

Chuang, C

Molecular Mechanisms of Gap Junction-Mediated Olfactory Signaling
07/01/08-06/15/12$75,000
Developmental Control of Olfactory Signaling in C. Elegans
09/15/10-09/15/12$25,000

Cleghon, V

Fundamental Mechanisms of Protein Kinase Activation Loop Autophosphorylation
R01 GM 08737404/15/10-02/28/14$193,050

Gebelein, B

Hox Regulation of Sensory Organ Development in Drosophila
R01 GM 07942804/01/08-02/28/13$186,219

Guasch Grangeon, G

Defining the Transcriptional and Signaling Networks Involved in Epithelial Cancers of Transitional Epithelia
07/01/11-06/30/13$86,957
Defining the Role of Sox2 in Vaginal Atresia Disorder
02/01/11-01/31/13$68,182
Defining Transitional Zones Associated with Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development
07/01/10-06/30/12$50,000
Using a Novel Mouse Model of Transitional Epithelial Tumor to Investigate Cancer Initiation and Progression
11/01/11-10/31/13$100,000
Digestive Health Center - P&F Study
P30 DK 07839206/01/12-05/31/17$36,666

Hegde, R

Molecular Mechanisms of Retinal Determination Proteins
R01 EY 01464804/01/10-03/31/13$240,000

Jiang, R

Genetic Basis of Cleft Lip and Palate
R01 DE 01520707/01/11-01/31/13$237,674
Molecular Genetic Analysis of Craniofacial Development
R01 DE 01368107/01/11-06/30/15$484,292

Kuan, C

Rac GTPases in the Mammalian Brain Development
R01 NS 05643507/01/08-06/30/12$196,000
White Matter Protection in Acute Ischemic Stroke
R21 NS 07455907/01/11-06/30/13$150,000

Lin, X

Roles of Perlecan in Intestinal Stem Cell Development in Drosphilia
04/01/12-03/31/13$71,078
Roles of Retromer Complex in Development
R01 GM 08751703/01/10-02/28/14$188,100
Regulation of Wingless (Wg) Signaling and Morphogen Gradient Formation
R01 GM 06389104/01/12-03/31/16$200,000

Nakafuku, M

Endogenous CNTF Receptors and Adult, In Vivo Neurogenesis
R01 NS 06605107/01/09-06/30/14$11,825
Molecular Control of Neurogenesis in the Adult Subventricular Zone
R01 NS 06989304/01/10-03/31/15$296,057

Potter, S

Generating Molecular Markers that Selectively Label Urothelial Sub-Populations
U01 DK 09453009/30/11-08/31/16$32,000
Global Gene Expression Atlas of Craniofacial Development
U01 DE 02004909/21/09-04/30/14$181,741
Digestive Health Center - Gene Expression Core
P30 DK 07839206/01/12-05/31/17$54,695

Potter, S / Aronow, B

Nextgen Dissection of the Genomic Basis of Kidney Development
RC4 DK 09089109/30/10-09/29/13$395,357

Shroyer, N

bHLH factor Regulation of Mammalian Retinal Neuron Development
01/01/12-12/31/14$57,000

Sumanas, S

Molecular Mechanisms of Arterial-Venous Differentiation in Zebrafish
R01 HL 10736904/01/11-03/31/16$250,000
Etv2 Functional Knockdown As a Novel Strategy for Inhibiting Tumor-Induced Angiogenesis
05/01/12-04/30/13$50,000

Tucker, J

Molecular Mechanisms of Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication
01/01/11-12/31/12$52,000

Wells, J

3D Growth of Human Pancreatic Tissue from PSCs
U01 DK 07247308/01/11-07/31/12$200,000
Human Endocrine Cell Development
R01 DK 09245604/07/12-02/28/17$297,412
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Research Development Program - Project 2
07/01/07-06/30/12$80,000

Wylie , C

A Developmentally-Based Tissue Engineering Approach to Improve Tendon Repair
R01 AR 05694307/10/09-06/30/14$176,372
Cadherin-based Actin Assembly in the Xenopus Embryo
R01 HD 04476403/12/09-01/31/14$197,208
Ectoderm Formation in the Early Xenopus Embryo
R01 HD 04573704/01/10-03/31/15$199,200

Yang , D

Effects of PAI1 on the tPA-JNK-Bim Pathway in Neonatal Cerebral Hypoxia-Ischemia
07/01/10-06/30/12$45,000

Yoshida, Y

Regulation of Sensory-Motor Connectivity by Semaphorin-Plexin Signaling
R01 NS 06504804/01/09-03/31/14$214,375

Zorn, A

Collaborative Research: Ontology-Enabled Reasoning across Phenotypers from Evolution and Model Organisms
DBI-106254207/01/11-06/30/15$27,403
Mammalian Foregut and Liver Development
R01 DK 08082301/01/09-12/31/12$240,572
Production, Validation and Distribution of the Xenopus ORFeome
R01 HD 06935208/01/11-05/31/16$47,043
Xenbase: a Xenopus Model Organism Database
P41 HD 06455606/01/10-05/31/15$684,727
Current Year Direct$7,184,191
Industry Contracts

Wells, J

$77,000
Total$7,261,191

Additional Information

Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program

The Graduate Program in Molecular and Developmental Biology is an interdepartmental program within the University of Cincinnati that offers the Ph.D. degree. It has been based in the Department of Pediatrics for over 40 years. Drs. Timothy Weaver and Rashmi Hegde served as Directors of the Program with co-directors Drs. Jeffrey Whitsett - finance, Aaron Zorn - curriculum, Tim Le Cras - admissions, Edith Markoff – recruitment, Yi Zheng – faculty membership, and John Shannon– graduate studies.

There are 85 faculty members in the program.  During the past year, there were 69 pre-doctoral students in the program, 9 of whom are pursuing M.D./Ph.D. degrees.  Students and faculty continue to be productive as measured by their numbers of publications, presentations at meetings, honors and awards received.  Grant support to faculty remains high.

During the past year, the University of Cincinnati continued to support the program by providing University Graduate Assistantships and funds appropriated from the Dean's office to support 6 first year students.  The remaining students are supported through a variety of sources including Ryan Fellowships (3), NIH training grants (8), external grants to their advisors (40), CHRF Special Purpose Funds to their advisors (8) and funds from the Children's Hospital Research Foundation to the Graduate Program (1).

The MDB Program provides an excellent research educational experience for students and has an excellent record in the placement of its graduates in scientific careers.

Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program Students, 2011-2012

StudentFaculty MentorAdmission
Thomas AccianiTimothy LeCras2009
Shailaja AkunuruYi Zheng2006
Amel AlqadahChiou-Fen Chuang2010
Robyn Amos-KroohsMichael Williams2009
Aria AttiaJeffrey Whitsett2010
David BalliVladimir Kalinichenko2008
Kristin BellNoah Shroyer2010
Katie BezoldRotating2011
Gregory BickPaul Andreassen2010
Caitlin (Maynard) BraitschKatherine Yutzey2006
Adam Burr**Jeff Molkentin2009
Jeeyeon Cha**Sudhansu K. Dey2009
Heather ChapmanKenneth Campbell2007
Mark Charlton-PerkinsTiffany Cook2010
Mikah Coffindaffer-WilsonJaye Hove2007
Jason CowanStephanie Ware2009
Angela Damen    Rotating2011
Sharina DesaiSaulius Sumanas2008
Tracy Dohn Joshua Waxman2009
Jieqing FanRichard Lang2007
Ming FangKatherine Yutzey2010
Alyssa GallasRotating2011
Chen GaoTanya Kalin2010
Margaret GardnerKathryn Wikenheiser-Brokamp2010
Nicole GlennSaulius Sumanas2006
Vicky GomezRotating2011
Ying GuChristopher Wylie2006
Zirong GuYutaka Yoshida2008
David Hahn Timothy Weaver2006
Lu HanRotating2011
Jamie HavrilakJohn Shannon2008
Michael HesterSteve Danzer2009
Mary (Horn) LeeKatherine Yutzey2007
Diva JonatanJames Wells2006
Abigail (Bower) KasbergSteve Potter2008
Jed Kendall**Nancy Ratner2011
Julie Lander**Stephanie Ware2011
David Li-KroegerBrian Gebelein2008
Shan LinJames Mulloy2009
Wei LiuYi Zheng2005
Mariana LouzaAaron Zorn2010
Thomas Lu**Marc Rothenberg2007
Bliss MagellaRotating2011
Amrita MandalRotating2011
Kate MaurerNadean Brown2009
Heather McCauleyGeraldine Guasch2009
Kyle McCracken**James Wells2010
Anna (Hake) MethodJames Wells2007
Monique MorrisonSusanne Wells2005
Elizabeth MushabenTimothy LeCras2007
Shenyue QinRotating2011
Megan RostSaulius Sumanas2008
Shatrunjai SinghSteve Danzer2010
Tony Stefater**Richard Lang2008
Mardi SutherlandStephanie Ware2008
Xiaofang TangXinhua Lin2006
David Terrell**Jeffrey Robbins/Tiffany Cook2008
Chelsea TolentinoTim Le Cras2010
Juli UhlBrian Gebelein2008
Sha WangChristopher Wylie2009
Emily WaymanRotating2011
Jiadi XuJohn Harley2010
Jia YouXinhua Lin2007
Inuk Zandvakili**Yi Zheng2009
Zheng ZhangAaron Zorn2008
Bo ZhouXinhua Lin2006
Xuan ZhouYi Zheng2007
**MD/PhD Students

Students completing their PhD work

  • Wei Liu – “Rational targeting of Cdc42 in hematopoietic stem cell mobilization and engraftment,” April 15, 2011.
  • Shailaja Akunuru – “Regulation of cancer stem cell activity and epithelial-mesenchymal transition by Rac1 in human lung adenocarcinoma cells,” June 10, 2011.
  • Monique Morrison – “Repression of the HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes by E2:  gone but not forgotten,” July 28, 2011.
  • Mikah Coffindaffer-Wilson – “Lymphangiogenesis in the Developing Zebrafish.” August, 12, 2011.
  • James “Tony” Stefater – “Regulation of vascular patterning by macrophages and microglia,” September 8, 2011.
  • Ying Gu – “A Traveling Niche:  The Role of Steel Factor in Mouse Primordial Germ Cell Development,” October 17, 2011.
  • Bo Zhou – “The role of retromer in regulating apical-basal polarity and immune response in Drosphila,” January 20, 2012.
  • Thomas Lu – “MicroRNA in the Pathogenesis of Allergic Inflammation,” January 24, 2012.
  • David Li-Kroeger – “Integration of regional and neural transcription factors controls EGF signaling from sensory organ precursor cells during Drosophila development,” April 26, 2012.

Student Publications

During the past year, students from the Program authored or co-authored 41 articles.

Amos-Kroohs RM, Williams MT, Vorhees CV. Neonatal methylphenidate does not impair adult spatial learning in the Morris water maze in rats. Neurosci Lett. 2011 Sep 20;502(3):152-6. Epub 2011 Jul 20. PubMed PMID: 21798318; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3167480.

Balli D, Ren X, Chou FS, Cross E, Zhang Y, Kalinichenko VV, Kalin TV. Foxm1 transcription factor is required for macrophage migration during lung inflammation and tumor formation. Oncogene. 2011 Dec 5. doi: 10.1038/onc.2011.549. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22139074; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3297705.

Braitsch CM, Combs MD, Quaggin SE, Yutzey KE. Pod1/Tcf21 is regulated by retinoic acid signaling and inhibits differentiation of epicardium-derived cells into smooth muscle in the developing heart. Dev Biol. 2012 Jun 9. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22687751.

Charlton-Perkins M, Brown NL, Cook TA. The lens in focus: a comparison of lens development in Drosophila and vertebrates. Mol Genet Genomics. 2011 Oct;286(3-4):189-213. Epub 2011 Aug 30. Review. PubMed PMID: 21877135.

Chen L, Acciani T, Le Cras T, Lutzko C, Perl AK. Dynamic Regulation of PDGFRα Expression in Alveolar fibroblasts During Realveolarization. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2012 May 31. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22652199.

Chiu H, Alqadah A, Chuang CF, Chang C. C. elegans as a genetic model to identify novel cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system regeneration. Cell Adh Migr. 2011 Sep-Oct;5(5):387-94. Review. PubMed PMID: 21975547; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3218605.

Chou FS, Griesinger A, Wunderlich M, Lin S, Link KA, Shrestha M, Goyama S, Mizukawa B, Shen S, Marcucci G, Mulloy JC. The THPO/MPL/Bcl-xL pathway is essential for survival and self-renewal in human pre-leukemia induced by AML1-ETO. Blood. 2012 Feb 14. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22337712.

Coffindaffer-Wilson M, Craig MP, Hove JR. Normal interstitial flow is critical for developmental lymphangiogenesis in the zebrafish. Lymphat Res Biol. 2011;9(3):151-8. PubMed PMID: 22066745.

Daikoku T, Cha J, Sun X, Tranguch S, Xie H, Fujita T, Hirota Y, Lydon J, DeMayo F, Maxson R, Dey SK. Conditional deletion of Msx homeobox genes in the uterus inhibits blastocyst implantation by altering uterine receptivity. Dev Cell. 2011 Dec 13;21(6):1014-25. Epub 2011 Nov 17. PubMed PMID: 22100262; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3241866.

Dohn TE, Waxman JS. Distinct phases of Wnt/β-catenin signaling direct cardiomyocyte formation in zebrafish. Dev Biol. 2012 Jan 15;361(2):364-76. Epub 2011 Nov 4. PubMed PMID: 22094017; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3246556.

Du A, McCracken KW, Walp ER, Terry NA, Klein TJ, Han A, Wells JM, May CL. Arx is required for normal enteroendocrine cell development in mice and humans. Dev Biol. 2012 May 1;365(1):175-88. Epub 2012 Feb 24. PubMed PMID: 22387004; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3322318.

Graham DL, Amos-Kroohs RM, Braun AA, Grace CE, Schaefer TL, Skelton MR, Williams MT, Vorhees CV. Neonatal (+)-methamphetamine exposure in rats alters adult locomotor responses to dopamine D1 and D2 agonists and to a glutamate NMDA receptor antagonist, but not to serotonin agonists. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2012 Mar 6:1-15. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22391043.

Gu Y, Runyan C, Shoemaker A, Surani MA, Wylie C. Membrane-bound steel factor maintains a high local concentration for mouse primordial germ cell motility, and defines the region of their migration. PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e25984. Epub 2011 Oct 6. PubMed PMID: 21998739; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3188585.

Hirota Y, Cha J, Yoshie M, Daikoku T, Dey SK. Heightened uterine mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling provokes preterm birth in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Nov 1;108(44):18073-8. Epub 2011 Oct 24. PubMed PMID: 22025690; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3207648.

Kramer EL, Hardie WD, Mushaben EM, Acciani TH, Pastura PA, Korfhagen TR, Hershey GK, Whitsett JA, Le Cras TD. Rapamycin decreases airway remodeling and hyperreactivity in a transgenic model of noninflammatory lung disease. J Appl Physiol. 2011 Dec;111(6):1760-7. Epub 2011 Sep 8. PubMed PMID: 21903885; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3290353.

Lee MP, Yutzey KE. Twist1 directly regulates genes that promote cell proliferation and migration in developing heart valves. PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e29758. Epub 2011 Dec 29. PubMed PMID: 22242143; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3248441.

Leslie JR, Imai F, Zhou X, Lang RA, Zheng Y, Yoshida Y. RhoA is dispensable for axon guidance of sensory neurons in the mouse dorsal root ganglia. Front Mol Neurosci. 2012;5:67. Epub 2012 May 22. PubMed PMID: 22661927; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3357536.

Li-Kroeger D, Cook TA, Gebelein B. Integration of an abdominal Hox complex with Pax2 yields cell-specific EGF secretion from Drosophila sensory precursor cells. Development. 2012 May;139(9):1611-9. Epub 2012 Mar 21. PubMed PMID: 22438572; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3317967.

Liu M, Bi F, Zhou X, Zheng Y. Rho GTPase regulation by miRNAs and covalent modifications. Trends Cell Biol. 2012 Jul;22(7):365-73. Epub 2012 May 7. PubMed PMID: 22572609; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3383930.

Lu TX, Lim EJ, Wen T, Plassard AJ, Hogan SP, Martin LJ, Aronow BJ, Rothenberg ME.MiR-375 is downregulated in epithelial cells after IL-13 stimulation and regulates an IL-13-induced epithelial transcriptome. Mucosal Immunol. 2012 Jul;5(4):388-96. doi: 10.1038/mi.2012.16. Epub 2012 Mar 28. PubMed PMID: 22453679.

Lu TX, Hartner J, Lim EJ, Fabry V, Mingler MK, Cole ET, Orkin SH, Aronow BJ, Rothenberg ME. MicroRNA-21 limits in vivo immune response-mediated activation of the IL-12/IFN-gamma pathway, Th1 polarization, and the severity of delayed-type hypersensitivity. J Immunol. 2011 Sep 15;187(6):3362-73. Epub 2011 Aug 17. PubMed PMID: 21849676; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3175642.

Lu TX, Sherrill JD, Wen T, Plassard AJ, Besse JA, Abonia JP, Franciosi JP, Putnam PE, Eby M, Martin LJ, Aronow BJ, Rothenberg ME. MicroRNA signature in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis, reversibility with glucocorticoids, and assessment as disease biomarkers. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012 Apr;129(4):1064-75.e9. Epub 2012 Mar 3. PubMed PMID: 22391115.

McCracken KW, Wells JM. Molecular pathways controlling pancreas induction. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2012 Jun 26. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22743233.

McCracken KW, Howell JC, Wells JM, Spence JR. Generating human intestinal tissue from pluripotent stem cells in vitro. Nat Protoc. 2011 Nov 10;6(12):1920-8. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2011.410. PubMed PMID: 22082986.

Morrison MA, Morreale RJ, Akunuru S, Kofron M, Zheng Y, Wells SI. Targeting the human papillomavirus E6 and E7 oncogenes through expression of the bovine papillomavirus type 1 E2 protein stimulates cellular motility. J Virol. 2011 Oct;85(20):10487-98. Epub 2011 Aug 10. PubMed PMID: 21835799; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3187478.

Mushaben EM, Kramer EL, Brandt EB, Khurana Hershey GK, Le Cras TD. Rapamycin attenuates airway hyperreactivity, goblet cells, and IgE in experimental allergic asthma. J Immunol. 2011 Dec 1;187(11):5756-63. Epub 2011 Oct 21. PubMed PMID: 22021618; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3221931.

Mushaben EM, Hershey GK, Pauciulo MW, Nichols WC, Le Cras TD. Chronic allergic inflammation causes vascular remodeling and pulmonary hypertension in BMPR2 hypomorph and wild-type mice. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32468. Epub 2012 Mar 9. PubMed PMID: 22427841; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3302893.

Palencia-Desai S, Kohli V, Kang J, Chi NC, Black BL, Sumanas S. Vascular endothelial and endocardial progenitors differentiate as cardiomyocytes in the absence of Etsrp/Etv2 function. Development. 2011 Nov;138(21):4721-32. PubMed PMID: 21989916; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3190385.

Ponferrada VG, Fan J, Vallance JE, Hu S, Mamedova A, Rankin SA, Kofron M, Zorn AM, Hegde RS, Lang RA. CRIM1 complexes with ß-catenin and cadherins, stabilizes cell-cell junctions and is critical for neural morphogenesis. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32635. Epub 2012 Mar 12. PubMed PMID: 22427856; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3299674.

Santos VR, de Castro OW, Pun RY, Hester MS, Murphy BL, Loepke AW, Garcia-Cairasco N, Danzer SC. Contributions of mature granule cells to structural plasticity in temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuroscience. 2011 Dec 1;197:348-57. Epub 2011 Sep 19. PubMed PMID: 21963349; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3216835.

Schaefer TL, Braun AA, Amos-Kroohs RM, Williams MT, Ostertag E, Vorhees CV. A new model of Pde4d deficiency: genetic knock-down of PDE4D enzyme in rats produces an antidepressant phenotype without spatial cognitive effects. Genes Brain Behav. 2012 Jul;11(5):614-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-183X.2012.00796.x. Epub 2012 May 8. PubMed PMID: 22487514.

Stefater JA 3rd, Ren S, Lang RA, Duffield JS. Metchnikoff's policemen: macrophages in development, homeostasis and regeneration. Trends Mol Med. 2011 Dec;17(12):743-52. Epub 2011 Sep 2. Review. PubMed PMID: 21890411; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3225647.

Tang X, Wu Y, Belenkaya TY, Huang Q, Ray L, Qu J, Lin X. Roles of N-glycosylation and lipidation in Wg secretion and signaling. Dev Biol. 2012 Apr 1;364(1):32-41. Epub 2012 Jan 21. PubMed PMID: 22285813; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3315154.

Terrell D, Xie B, Workman M, Mahato S, Zelhof A, Gebelein B, Cook T. OTX2 and CRX rescue overlapping and photoreceptor-specific functions in the Drosophila eye. Dev Dyn. 2012 Jan;241(1):215-28. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.22782. Epub 2011 Nov 23. PubMed PMID: 22113834.

Wong KS, Rehn K, Palencia-Desai S, Kohli V, Hunter W, Uhl JD, Rost MS, Sumanas S. Hedgehog signaling is required for differentiation of endocardial progenitors in zebrafish. Dev Biol. 2012 Jan 15;361(2):377-91. Epub 2011 Nov 12. PubMed PMID: 22119054.

Zhang S, Zhou X, Lang RA, Guo F. RhoA of the Rho family small GTPases is essential for B lymphocyte development. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33773. Epub 2012 Mar 16. PubMed PMID: 22438996; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3306291.

Zhou B, Wu Y, Lin X. Retromer regulates apical-basal polarity through recycling Crumbs. Dev Biol. 2011 Dec 1;360(1):87-95. Epub 2011 Sep 19. PubMed PMID: 21958744.

Student Honors

  •  Acciani, T. – Supported by Choose Ohio First Scholarship
  • Akunuru, S. – Supported by NIH Training Grant (Hematologic and Oncologic Diseases)
  • Alqadah, A. – Supported by Choose Ohio First Scholarship
  • Amos-Kroohs, R. –Supported by NIH Training Grant (Teratology)
  • Balli, D. – Supported by Ryan Fellowship; Supported by NIH Training Grant (Pulmonary & Cardiovascular Biology)
  • Bick, G. – Supported by Choose Ohio First Scholarship
  • Cha, J. – Supported by NIH Training Grant (Perinatal Endocrinology); NHLBI Ruth L. Kirchenstein National Research Service Award for Individual Pre-doctoral MD/PhD Fellows
  • Chapman, H. – Supported by NIH Training Grant (Teratology)
  • Dohn, T. – Supported by Choose Ohio First Scholarship
  • Gardner, M. – Supported by NIH Training Grant (Pulmonary & Cardiovascular Biology)
  • Gu, Y. – Supported by Ryan Fellowship
  • Hester, M. – Epilepsy Society Pre-doctoral Fellowship
  • Kasberg, A. – Supported by NIH Training Grant (Teratology)
  • Li-Kroeger, D. – Supported by Ryan Fellowship
  • Lu, T. – NHLBI Ruth L. Kirchenstein National Research Service Award for Individual Pre-doctoral MD/PhD Fellows
  • Sutherland, M. – Supported by NIH Training Grant (Pulmonary & Cardiovascular Biology)

Richard A. Akeson Fellowship Fund

The Richard A. Akeson Fellowship and Memorial Lectureship Fund continues to support the Annual Richard Akeson Memorial Lectureship and travel by students in our graduate program to relevant courses and meetings in which they are presenting results of their research. Dr. Ronald Germain presented the Sixteenth Annual Richard Akeson Memorial Lectureship in conjunction with the annual Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Student Symposium in 2011.

In addition to the travel stipends, the program also instituted two new student achievement awards.  The Akeson Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Graduate Program is awarded to a first or second year student with outstanding participation in student recruitment, hosting visiting seminar speakers, volunteering for University of Cincinnati events and other contributions.  The Akeson Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to a student in the third year or beyond with a strong publication record, pre-doctoral fellowships, grants (both submitted and awarded) and presentations at national and international meetings.  Nominations are accepted for both awards from MDB program faculty and students and awards are made in the spring.  For 2012, the Akeson Award for Outstanding Contributions was awarded to Maria “Vicky” Gomez and the Akeson Award for Academic Excellence was awarded to Heather McCauley.

The following students received funding from the Richard A. Akeson Fellowship and Memorial Fund for travel in 2011 - 2012:

 

StudentMeetingPresentation    Date
Zheng Zhang Society for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster 7/20/11-7/24/11 
Ying GuSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Sharina DesaiSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Nikki GlennSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Megan RostSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Mary LeeSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Heather ChapmanSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Caitlin BraitschSociety for Developmental Biology 70th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois		Poster7/20/11-7/24/11
Jeeyeon Cha44th Annual SSR Meeting
Portland, Oregon		Poster7/31/11-8/4/11
Heather McCauleyMontagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin
Stevenson, Washington		  

 

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