Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
The Molecular Genetics and Development Research Group covers the
diverse area of human molecular genetics, together with that of
developmental biology, using the zebrafish as a model system.
The group is comprised of several laboratories. The Don Love group
is concerned with two main research areas. Firstly, the development of
improved molecular- based diagnostics for human inherited disorders and
also the establishment of novel technologies for gene down-regulation
and targeted mutagenesis in the zebrafish. A complementary interest is
modelling the autosomal dominant disorder, Huntington disease, in
zebrafish.
The Clive Evans group is concerned with the analysis of the
expression patterns of different calpains during development, using the
zebrafish and the mouse as model systems. The laboratory has identified
a number of splice variants of calpain 3 that are differentially
expressed during the differentiation of muscle cells from myoblasts to
myofibres.
Further analysis of these genes will involve sequencing and
characterising the expression patterns of the different orthologous
genes, and the generation of a phylogenetic gene map for the calpain
family. Finally, environmental toxicology also provides a research
focus for the Evans laboratory. This focus involves a study of the
impact of organic pollutants in Antarctica.
Dr. Nigel Birch
Associate Professor Tom Brittain
Associate Professor David Christie
Associate Professor Clive Evans
Associate Professor Don Love
Dr. Ken Scott
Dr. John Taylor