Dr Erin Macaulay

Contact Details
- Phone
- +64 3 470 3455
- 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