Towers, Matthew - University of Sheffield - Department of Biomedical Science

个人简介

Matthew Towers obtained a B.Sc. in Genetics from the University of Leeds, UK, in 1998 and a Ph.D. from the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK, in 2002, on the roles of D cyclins in snapdragon leaf development. Following a technical position in the lab of Andrea Munsterberg at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, he undertook a postdoctoral position with Cheryll Tickle at the Universities of Dundee, UK, in 2005 and then Bath, UK, in 2007, studying the role of Sonic Hedgehog signalling in the growth and patterning of the embryonic chick wing bud. Matt moved to the University of Sheffield in 2011 to establish an independent research group and took up an MRC Career Development Fellowship in January 2012. Matt’s current research is focussed on how patterning and growth are integrated during vertebrate limb development with implications for stem cell and regenerative biology.

研究领域

We are interested in how complex structures are correctly formed in the body. The crucial events that control how we develop occur during the earliest stages of life in the embryo. In particular, our research is centred on how limbs develop and we mostly work on chicken embryos because we can look directly at how they develop by opening a small window in the egg. Figure 1We want to understand how cells divide for the correct number of times in order to generate correctly patterned limbs. This research is important because it can give insights into the mechanisms that cause cells to lose control of cell division and turn into cancerous tumours. In addition, by revealing how digits develop, we can use this knowledge to understand the causes of birth defects that affect the limb and other structures in the body.

近期论文

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Pickering J & Towers M (2016) Inhibition of Shh signalling in the chick wing gives insights into digit patterning and evolution. Development, 143(19), 3514-3521. View this article in White Rose Research Online Saiz-Lopez P, Chinnaiya K, Campa VM, Delgado I, Ros MA & Towers M (2015) An intrinsic timer specifies distal structures of the vertebrate limb. Nature Communications, 6. View this article in White Rose Research Online Chinnaiya K, Tickle C & Towers M (2014) Sonic hedgehog-expressing cells in the developing limb measure time by an intrinsic cell cycle clock. Nat Commun, 5, 4230. Woolley TE, Baker RE, Tickle C, Maini PK & Towers M (2014) Mathematical Modelling of Digit Specification by a Sonic Hedgehog Gradient. DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, 243(2), 290-298.