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Dr Erin Macaulay

Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 470 3455
Email
erin.macaulay@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Senior Lecturer
Department
Department of Pathology (Dunedin)
Qualifications
BSc(Hons) PhD
Research summary
Epigenetic regulation of early human development and later-life disease
Teaching
  • GENE313 Medical Genetics
  • GENE412 Current Topics in Genetics
  • MICN201 Medicine 2nd year, Pathology
  • PSCI202 Medicines and Diseases
  • PATH302 Cancer Biology, guest lecturer
  • Convenor of PSCI202 Medicines and Diseases, Pathology
Memberships
  • Editorial Board, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology and Frontiers in Genetics
  • Review Editor, Frontiers in Epigenomics and Epigenetics
  • Genetics Otago Advisory Board
  • Australian & NZ Placental Research Association
  • Genetics Otago (University of Otago)
  • Early Career Researcher Advancement Group (University of Otago)
  • The Phi Beta Kappa Society (USA)

Research

I investigate the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate early human and placental development, pregnancy-related pathologies and later-life diseases including cancer.

I have a particular interest in the activity of transposable elements in the genome, since some transposable elements create new genes that are critical for normal human development yet also feature in adult malignancies.

I also investigate the genetics and epigenetics of female-specific cancers, including a rare form of hormone-dependent lung tumours, known as Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM).

My passion is to harness the insights gained from early human development to advance our evolving paradigms of human health and disease.

Publications

Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., McDougall, L. I., Stockwell, P. A., Almomani, S. N., Weeks, R. J., Ludgate, J. L., … Chatterjee, A., … Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2023). The transposable element-derived transcript of LIN28B has a placental origin and is not specific to tumours. Molecular Genetics & Genomics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s00438-023-02033-1

Keighley, L. M., Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., Almomani, S. N., Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2023). Unveiling the hidden players: The crucial role of transposable elements in the placenta and their potential contribution to pre-eclampsia. Placenta. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2023.05.017

Powell, R. M., Pattison, S., Moravec, J. C., Bhat, B., Guirguis, N., Markie, D., Jones, G. T., … Print, C. G., Morison, I. M., Gavryushkin, A., … Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2022). Tuberous sclerosis complex: A complex case. Molecular Case Studies, 8, a006182. doi: 10.1101/mcs.a006182

Hossain, S. M., Lynch-Sutherland, C., Chatterjee, A., Macaulay, E. C., & Eccles, M. R. (2021). Can immune suppression and epigenome regulation in placenta offer novel insights into cancer immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance? Epigenomes, 5, 16. doi: 10.3390/epigenomes5030016

Stockwell, P. A., Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., Chatterjee, A., Macaulay, E. C., & Eccles, M. R. (2021). RepExpress: A novel pipeline for the quantification and characterization of transposable element expression from RNA-seq data. Current Protocols, 1(8), e206. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.206

Keighley, L. M., Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., Almomani, S. N., Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2023). Unveiling the hidden players: The crucial role of transposable elements in the placenta and their potential contribution to pre-eclampsia. Placenta. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2023.05.017

Journal - Research Article

Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., McDougall, L. I., Stockwell, P. A., Almomani, S. N., Weeks, R. J., Ludgate, J. L., … Chatterjee, A., … Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2023). The transposable element-derived transcript of LIN28B has a placental origin and is not specific to tumours. Molecular Genetics & Genomics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s00438-023-02033-1

Journal - Research Article

Powell, R. M., Pattison, S., Moravec, J. C., Bhat, B., Guirguis, N., Markie, D., Jones, G. T., … Print, C. G., Morison, I. M., Gavryushkin, A., … Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2022). Tuberous sclerosis complex: A complex case. Molecular Case Studies, 8, a006182. doi: 10.1101/mcs.a006182

Journal - Research Article

Almomani, S. N., Alsaleh, A. A., Weeks, R. J., Chatterjee, A., Day, R. C., Honda, I., … Fukuzawa, R., Slatter, T. L., Hung, N. A., Devenish, C., Morison, I. M., & Macaulay, E. C. (2021). Identification and validation of DNA methylation changes in pre-eclampsia. Placenta, 110, 16-23. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2021.05.005

Journal - Research Article

McDougall, L. I., Powell, R. M., Ratajska, M., Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., Hossain, S. M., Wiggins, G. A. R., … Motwani, J., Macaulay, E. C., Reid, G., Walker, L. C., … Eccles, M. R. (2021). Differential expression of BARD1 isoforms in melanoma. Genes, 12(2), 320. doi: 10.3390/genes12020320

Journal - Research Article

Motwani, J., Rodger, E. J., Stockwell, P. A., Baguley, B. C., Macaulay, E. C., & Eccles, M. R. (2021). Genome-wide DNA methylation and RNA expression differences correlate with invasiveness in melanoma cell lines. Epigenomics, 13(8), 577-598. doi: 10.2217/epi-2020-0440

Journal - Research Article

Stockwell, P. A., Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., Chatterjee, A., Macaulay, E. C., & Eccles, M. R. (2021). RepExpress: A novel pipeline for the quantification and characterization of transposable element expression from RNA-seq data. Current Protocols, 1(8), e206. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.206

Journal - Research Article

Lynch-Sutherland, C. F., Chatterjee, A., Stockwell, P. A., Eccles, M. R., & Macaulay, E. C. (2020). Reawakening the developmental origins of cancer through transposable elements. Frontiers in Oncology, 10, 468. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00468

Journal - Research Article

Reily-Bell, A. L., Fisher, A., Harrison, B., Bowie, S., Ray, S., Hawkes, M., … Fukuzawa, R., Macaulay, E. C., Devenish, C. J., Hung, N. A., & Slatter, T. L. (2020). Human papillomavirus E6/E7 expression in preeclampsia-affected placentae. Pathogens, 9(3), 239. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9030239

Journal - Research Article

Gamage, T. K. J. B., Schierding, W., Hurley, D., Tsai, P., Ludgate, J. L., Bhoothpur, C., … Weeks, R. J., Macaulay, E. C., & James, J. L. (2018). The role of DNA methylation in human trophoblast differentiation. Epigenetics, 13(12), 1154-1173. doi: 10.1080/15592294.2018.1549462

Journal - Research Article

Gamage, T. K. J. B., Schierding, W., Tsai, P., Ludgate, J. L., Chamley, L. W., Weeks, R. J., Macaulay, E. C., & James, J. L. (2018). Human trophoblasts are primarily distinguished from somatic cells by differences in the pattern rather than the degree of global CpG methylation. Biology Open, 7, bio034884. doi: 10.1242/bio.034884

Journal - Research Article

Chatterjee, A., Macaulay, E. C., Ahn, A., Ludgate, J. L., Stockwell, P. A., Weeks, R. J., Parry, M. F., Foster, T. J., … Eccles, M. R., & Morison, I. M. (2017). Comparative assessment of DNA methylation patterns between reduced representation bisulfite sequencing and Sequenom EpiTyper methylation analysis. Epigenomics, 9(6), 823-832. doi: 10.2217/epi-2016-0176

Journal - Research Article

Macaulay, E. C., Chatterjee, A., Cheng, X., Baguley, B. C., Eccles, M. R., & Morison, I. M. (2017). The genes of life and death: A potential role for placental-specific genes in cancer: Active retrotransposons in the placenta encode unique functional genes that may also be used by cancer cells to promote malignancy. BioEssays, 39(11), 1700091. doi: 10.1002/bies.201700091

Journal - Research Article

Chatterjee, A., Macaulay, E. C., Rodger, E. J., Stockwell, P. A., Parry, M. F., Roberts, H. E., Slatter, T. L., Hung, N. A., Devenish, C. J., & Morison, I. M. (2016). Placental hypomethylation is more pronounced in genomic loci devoid of retroelements. Genes Genomes Genetics, 6(7), 1911-1921. doi: 10.1534/g3.116.030379

Journal - Research Article

Macaulay, E. C., Roberts, H. E., Cheng, X., Jeffs, A. R., Baguley, B. C., & Morison, I. M. (2014). Retrotransposon hypomethylation in melanoma and expression of a placenta-specific gene. PLoS ONE, 9(4), e95840. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095840

Journal - Research Article

Slatter, T. L., Tan, X., Yuen, Y. C., Gunningham, S., Ma, S. S., Daly, E., Packer, S., Devenish, C., Royds, J. A., & Hung, N. A. (2012). The alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway operates in non-neoplastic human cells. Journal of Pathology, 226(3), 509-518. doi: 10.1002/path.2981

Journal - Research Article

Macaulay, E. C., Weeks, R. J., Andrews, S., & Morison, I. M. (2011). Hypomethylation of functional retrotransposon-derived genes in the human placenta. Mammalian Genome, 22, 722-735. doi: 10.1007/s00335-011-9355-1

Journal - Research Article

Botta, P., Radcliffe, R. A., Carta, M., Mameli, M., Daly, E., Floyd, K. L., … Valenzuela, C. F. (2007). Modulation of GABAA receptors in cerebellar granule neurons by ethanol: A review of genetic and electrophysiological studies. Alcohol, 41, 187-199. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2007.04.004

Journal - Research Article

Hossain, S. M., Lynch-Sutherland, C., Chatterjee, A., Macaulay, E. C., & Eccles, M. R. (2021). Can immune suppression and epigenome regulation in placenta offer novel insights into cancer immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance? Epigenomes, 5, 16. doi: 10.3390/epigenomes5030016

Journal - Research Other

Macaulay, E. C., & Bloomfield, F. H. (2016). Unravelling the link between the placental epigenome and pregnancy outcomes. Biology of Reproduction, 94(4), 82. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.116.139915

Journal - Research Other

Macaulay, E. C., Donovan, E. L., Leask, M. P., Bloomfield, F. H., Vickers, M. H., Dearden, P. K., … and on behalf of the Gravida International College Summit Team. (2014). The importance of early life in childhood obesity and related diseases: A report from the 2014 Gravida Strategic Summit. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease, 5(6), 398-407. doi: 10.1017/S2040174414000488

Journal - Research Other

Abad, C., Antczak, D. F., Carvalho, J., Chamley, L. W., Chen, Q., Daher, S., … Daly, E., … Lash, G. E. (2011). IFPA Meeting 2010 Workshop Report I: Immunology; ion transport; Epigenetics; Vascular reactivity; Epitheliochorial placentation; Proteomics. Placenta, 32(Suppl. 2), S81-S89. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2010.12.019

Journal - Research Other

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