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Professor Julia Horsfield

Julia Horsfiled and the Zebrafish tanksDirector
BSc (Hons), PhD, DipAppSci

Professor Julia Horsfield is a developmental geneticist based in the Department of Pathology at the University of Otago.

Julia leads a research group investigating the role of chromosome structure in animal development and cancer. Her specific research interest lies in cohesin proteins, which are present in all animals and important for cell division and DNA repair. As the name implies, cohesin proteins' main function is to hold replicated chromosomes together until cells divide. However, they are also involved in gene expression and this is where Julia's research focus lies, particularly in relation to Cornelia de Lange and Roberts syndromes.

Julia has worked with zebrafish as her model animal for the past 12 years. She moved from the University of Auckland to the University of Otago in 2007, introducing Otago researchers to zebrafish in the process. Her enthusiasm for the zebrafish animal model has attracted several senior researchers and their teams to zebrafish and this has ultimately led to the development of the new state-of-the-art facility.

Publications

Lynch, D. M., Meier, M., Labudina, A., Antony, J., & Horsfield, J. A. (2023). How STAG proteins influence cohesins role in cell fate determination. Proceedings of the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium & Workshops. Retrieved from https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/go Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Labudina, A. A., Gimenez, G., Meier, M., Ketharnathan, S., Antony, J., & Horsfield, J. A. (2023). Using a zebrafish stem cell model to understand the molecular basis of cohesinopathies. Proceedings of the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium & Workshops. Retrieved from https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/go Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Labudina, A. A., Gimenez, G., Meier, M., Ketharnathan, S., Antony, J., & Horsfield, J. A. (2023). Using a zebrafish stem cell model to understand the molecular basis of cohesinopathies. In T. Milne, M. Anwar, L. Burga, H. Harcombe, M. Garelja, A. Middleton, D. C. Ribeiro, N. Fleming, K. Ogbuehi & A. Bahn (Eds.), Proceedings of the 267th Otago Medical School Research Society (OMSRS) Meeting: PhD Student Speaker Awards. Dunedin, New Zealand: OMSRS. Retrieved from https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/12839 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Horsfield, J. (2023, March). The circle of life: Connecting cell division with cell fate. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Inaugural Professorial Lecture]. Other Research Output

Morice, M., Darroch, H., Horsfield, J., Merriman, T., & Leask, M. (2023). The regulatory landscape of metabolism in Polynesian populations. Proceedings of the Society for Developmental Biology 82nd Annual Meeting. (pp. 7). Retrieved from https://www.sdbonline.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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