Dr Caroline Beck
BSc (Hons), PhDDr Caroline Beck is a developmental biologist in the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago.
She is interested in understanding the complex gene regulation required to “build” an animal from a single cell. Caroline's research lab has a particular interest in the development of organs, such as the vertebrate limb and eye, and the ability of some vertebrates to regenerate these organs. The work relies heavily on model animals to reveal how complex structures are built and – in the case of regeneration after injury – rebuilt. While most of the work uses amphibian models, such as Xenopus laevis (clawed frogs), the zebrafish fin is also used for complementary studies on regeneration.
Caroline gained a BSc (Hons) in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham and a PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Warwick, before undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Bath. She has been at Otago since 2004.
Further information
Further information about Caroline is available on the Department of Zoology website.