Faculty

BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE BELL CENTER

Federal stimulus funds were received by the MBL in 2009 to initially support the recruitment and/or retention of two faculty members specializing in regenerative biology to the new Bell Center.  This was achieved with the appointment of Mark Messerli and Joel Smith to the Bell Center. Messerli studies the natural mechanisms by which polarity in cells and tissues is formed in hopes of providing a foundation for repairing and rebuilding human tissues. Smith studies how the genetic “blueprint” is used to make the body parts of an animal. Since then, additional faculty members have been retained to help develop pilot research projects in the area of regenerative biology, tissue engineering, and marine genomics that will lay the foundation for this new research center at the MBL.

Marko Horb and Jennifer Morgan joined Messerli and Smith as new scientific appointments in the Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering. Horb uses Xenopus frogs to study the steps and signals that lead to development of the pancreas and other organs. Morgan uses the lamprey to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which neurons communicate with each other at synapses within the vertebrate central nervous system.

Adjunct appointments in the Bell Center include William Jeffery, Sid Tamm, and Steven Zottoli. Jeffery studies the mechanisms of eye degeneration, pigment loss, and the evolution of behavior using the cavefish and ciona models. Tamm investigates basic problems in cell biology and motility using comb jellies (ctenophores) and termite protozoa. Zottoli investigates the neuronalbasis of recovery from complete damage to spinal cords in non-mammalian vertebrates.

In addition to the principal investigators, the Center is staffed by an administrator, and a total of 14 postdoctoral scientists, graduate students, and research assistants.

Current Faculty, and Research Highlights from 2012

jonathan_gitlanJonathan Gitlin
Director and Senior Scientist, MBL
Lillie 104-105
Phone: 508-289-7270
Email: jgitlin@mbl.edu

In 2013, Jonathan Gitlin, Senior Scientist, joined the Bell Center as Acting Director, replacing Joshua Hamilton who was serving in this capacity in 2012. Gitlin maintains a joint appointment in the Cellular Dynamics Program. He is interested in the interplay of the environment and the genome in early human development and his research utilizes zebrafish as a model for understanding human disease, environmental adaptation and evolutionary biodiversity.

Marko HorbMarko Horb
Associate Scientist, MBL
Rowe 413
Phone: 508-289-7627
Email: mhorb@mbl.edu

The Horb lab studies the mechanisms of pancreas development and differentiation in Xenopus laevis and this past year has

  • Identified new genes involved in promoting transdifferentiation of liver to pancreatic beta cells.
  • Identified a role for an RNA binding protein Staufen 2 in mediating patterning of the anterior endoderm.
  • Examined the role of BrunoL1, an RNA binding protein regeneration of pancreatic cells.

Andrew-Latimer-photoAndrew Latimer
Assistant Research Scientist, MBL
Lillie 104-105
Phone: 508-289-7270
Email: alatimer@mbl.edu

Drew Latimer is a developmental biologist and Track II Assistant Research Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Gitlin, which uses zebrafish embryos as a model to study the biology of copper. He is primarily interested in understanding how copper and copper dependent proteins function during embryonic development, with a specific view towards determining how copper deficiency affects brain development.

William JefferyWilliam Jeffery
Adjunct Senior Scientist, MBL and Professor (University of Maryland)
Rowe 212
Phone: 508-289-7332
E-Mail: wjeffery@mbl.edu

The Jeffrey lab is interested in the regeneration of the oral siphon (mouth) of Ciona, a genus of Cionidea sea squirts. In this past year his lab has

  • Discovered that it is possible to replicate the entire regeneration process in a tissue culture dish.
  • Found that siphon regeneration is arrested in the oldest animals of a natural Ciona population.
  • Discovered a molecular mechanism involved in oral siphon regeneration involving the Notch signaling pathway.

Mark MesserliMark Messerli
Assistant Scientist, MBL
Lillie 223
Phone: 508-289-7295
E-Mail: mmesserli@mbl.edu

The Messerli lab studies the physical and physiological controls that organize and polarize cells during development, repair and regeneration and this past year has

  • designed and implemented a simple device for selection, isolation, and accurate positioning of single cells in three dimensions.
  • Identified a novel role for the TRPV1 calcium channel is cell migration.
  • Demonstrated a role for the zinc transporter ZIP12 in zinc homeostasis in the mouse and frog nervous systems.

Jennifer MorganJennifer R. Morgan
Assistant Scientist, MBL
Rowe 408
Phone:  508-289-7495
Email:  jmorgan@mbl.edu

The successful recruitment of Jennifer Morgan from the University of Texas has added another extraordinary young scientist to the Bell Center. Jennifer obtained her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Duke and completed her postdoctoral education at Yale with Pietro De Camilla. The recipient of numerous awards including the University of Texas Regent’s Teaching Award and the Society for Neuroscience Career Development Award, Jennifer is an accomplished neuroscientist working with NIH funding to elucidate the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and regeneration in the vertebrate central nervous system.

She is currently utilizing the sea lamprey as a model organism for spinal cord regeneration following injury and has discovered that synuclein accumulates after injury and modulates neuronal survival such that reducing synuclein accumulation may be a useful mechanism to increase regeneration after spinal cord injury. Her work holds great promise for the development of novel approaches for affected patients.

Joel SmithJoel Smith
Assistant Scientist, MBL
Rowe 407
Phone: 508-289-7253
E-Mail: jcsmith@mbl.edu

The Smith lab is interested in defining the gene regulatory networks that control embryonic pattern formation and in this past year has

  • Developed novel functional comparative genomic approaches to identify regulatory pathways essential for body plan organization and regeneration.
  • Initiated studies to elucidate the stem cell signaling network in the sea urchin.

SSidney Tammidney Tamm
Adjunct Senior Scientist, MBL and Professor (Boston University)
Rowe 113
Phone: 508-289-7430
E-Mail: tamm@bu.edu

The Tamm lab is exploring the mechanisms of coordination and control of ciliary motion utilizing the Ctenophora or comb jellies. In this past year his work has

  • Provided a morphological foundation for histological, cellular, and molecular analysis of ciliary regeneration in ctenophores.
  • Examined regeneration of comb plates in comparison to normal development of these structures in post-larval and adult stages of different types of ctenophores to define the unique mechanisms underlying both processes.

Administrative Staff
Barbara Burbank, Center Research Administrator
MRC 314
7 MBL Street
Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
508-289-7700; fax. 508-289-7900
bburbank@mbl.edu

Research Staff

Susan Banks, Postdoctoral Scientist
Kaitlin Doucette, Research Assistant
Antje Fischer, Postdoctoral Scientist
Stephanie Fogerson, Research Assistant
David Graham, Research Assistant III
Lori Horb, Research Assistant III
Cristy Lewis, Research Assistant II
Esther Pearl, Postdoctoral Scientist
Molly Phillips, Research Assistant
Daniel Quinn, Research Assistant
Abraham Rosas-Arellano, Postdoctoral Scientist
Matthew Salanga, Postdoctoral Scientist
Sarah Tulin, Postdoctoral Scientist
Rylie Walsh, Research Assistant

Graduate Students
Cassandra Bilogan, Brown/MBL Graduate Student
Akash Srivastava, Brown/MBL Graduate Student