Dr Caroline Beck
Email caroline.beck@otago.ac.nz
Phone 64-3-479-4109
Teaching
- CELS 191 Cell and molecular biology
- ZOOL 223 Animal Physiology
- GENE 223 Developmental and Applied Genetics
- GENE 314 Developmental Genetics
Research Interests
As a developmental biologist, I am interested in how a single cell, the fertilised egg, progressively acquires the form an function of its parents over time by complex gene regulation. My lab is especially interested in the development of organs such as the vertebrate limb and eye and in the ability of some vertebrates to regenerate these organs. We use the South African Clawed frog Xenopus laevis as well as the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum as model organisms to ask questions about how complex structures are built and rebuilt during embryogenesis and regeneration following injury.
Current Postgraduate Students
- Elisha Wang (PhD): On producing a genetic blueprint on the normal limb development and regeneration of the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis
- Amy Taylor (PhD): Mechanisms for the maintenance of regeneration in Xenopus laevis and Ambystoma mexicanum.
- John McNally (MSc Genetics) Retinoic acid's role as a morphogen in the development of hind limbs in Xenopus laevis
- Mythrayee Sundaresan (PGDipSci Anat)
Current and Potential Future Projects
- Searching for evidence of morphogen gradients in developing and regenerating limbs
- New methods for functional analysis of newly identified regeneration-specific genes
- Amphibian limb development and patterning
Recent Research Students
- Sam Capon (MSc Genetics 2011) Characterising Cfm2, a novel gene involved in vertebrate development.
- Elisha Wang (MSc Genetics 2011) Revised function of the BMP inhibtor Gremlin in Xenopus limb development and its potential in hindlimb regeneration.
- Robert Trought (MSc Genetics 2010) The role of bone morphogenetic proteins in the development of the Xenopus tail
- Tahlia Whiting (BSc Hons Genetics 2010) Elucidating the spatial and temporal patterns of morphogens in Xenopus laevis limb development
- Josh Lynch (BSc Hons Genetics 2009) The roles of retinoic acid regulatory genes in vertebrate limb development
- Tamsin Jones (BSc Hons Genetics 2008): The roles of bone morphogenetic proteins in limb development
- Jamie-Leigh Jonker (BSc Hons Zoology 2008) Heat shock proteins in Xenopus laevis, their role in regeneration, and the effect of the flavonid quercetin.
- James McEwan (BSc Hons Zoology 2007): Retinoic acid and limb regeneration
- Sarah Holman (BSc Hons Genetics): Exploring the significance of a protein-protein interaction in vertebrate development (co-supervised by Prof Stephen Robertson)
- Donna Barker (MSc Genetics 2007) : Cellular and molecular characterisation of Xenopus laevis hindlimb regeneration.
- Lee Miles (BSc Hons Genetics 2005): Identifying roles of BMP signalling during vertebrate embryo development.
- Sarah Milton (BSc Hons Zoology 2004): The effects of retinoic acid and ethanol on the level and distribution of Otx2 expression in the neurulating chick embryo
Publications
