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CDB Seminars Wednesday 26 June, 12.30-4.40pm Gavin de Beer Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, Anatomy Building Hosts: Steve Hunt and Michael Duchen
12.30pm Ricardo Laranjeiro: "A novel cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (p20) controls circadian cell cycle timing" 1.00pm Mark Hajjawi: “Nucleotides as regulators of skeletal function” 1.30pm Keri Tochiki: “Are histone modifications setting up inflammatory pain states?” 2.00pm Gordon Walsh: "Model construction and
parameter determination in eukaryotic phosphoinositide metabolism" 2.40pm Mason Yeh: 3.10pm Beverley Bright: 3.40pm Eleanna Stamatakou: 4.10pm Hui Min Tan: __________________________
Thursday 27 June at 1pm __________________________ Following the Summer Break the Series returns in September.
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Prof David Whitmore
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Prof David Whitmore is the Head of CDB. He trained with Professor Gene Block at the University of Virginia, studying circadian clocks in the molluscs Bulla and Aplysia, before moving to the IGBMC in Strasbourg, where he was involved in the development of zebrafish as a model system for clock analysis. |
The laboratory at UCL has continued to develop this system with the establishment of luminescent clock-containing cell lines, which allow for the dynamic imaging of rhythmic gene expression in living cells.
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d.whitmore@ucl.ac.uk Office: 020 7679 6585, (Int: 46585) Lab: 020 7679 6132, (Int: 46132) |
Executive Officer to Prof
Whitmore: Ed Whitfield Tel: 020 7679 3346 (Int. 33346) |
View Prof Whitmore's Lab website here
Research
Our early circadian studies in zebrafish revealed several rather unexpected results. Initially, we were able to show that individual tissues within the adult contained their own independent circadian clock, and secondly, that these cells are themselves directly light responsive. This represented one of the earliest demonstrations of peripheral circadian organization. Since then, this observation has been extended to the earliest stages of embryo development, as well as to cells in culture.
This raises certain fundamental questions that our laboratory continues to explore. How do these cells and tissues directly detect light, and what general cellular processes does light influence? What is the central mechanism of this cellular clock, and what aspects of cell biology are controlled by the pervasive presence of a clock in each cell?
By employing a range of standard molecular techniques, retroviral approaches, and live cell imaging, we aim to explore how light and internal time measurement influence cell and neural physiology. Luminescent imaging allows us to see how the cellular clock changes dynamically in living cells as the levels of light and dark alter across the day. Similar approaches can be employed to follow changes in the regulation of downstream rhythmic events, such as the timing of cell division and activation of DNA repair.
In collaboration of Dr Yoshiyuki Yamamoto, we are also involved in field studies to explore how the fish circadian clock works under natural conditions in both rivers and cave complexes found in Northern Mexico.
Profile
1996 PhD,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
1996 Postdoctoral Fellow, IGBMC,
Strasbourg, France.
2000 Research Scientist, Max Planck
Institute, Tuebingen, Germany.
2001 Lecturer, University College
London.
2005 Reader of Chronobiology,
University College London.
2010 Professor of
Chronobiology, University College London.
2011 Head,
Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College
London.
Selected Publications
- Tamai TK, Young LC, Cox CA and Whitmore D (2012) Light acts on the zebrafish circadian clock to suppress rhythmic mitosis and cell proliferation. J Biol Rhythms 27: 226-236.
- Dekens, M.P. and Whitmore, D. (2008) Autonomous onset of the circadian clock in the zebrafish embryo. EMBO Journal 27: 2757-65.
- Tamai, T.K., Young, L.C., and Whitmore, D. (2007) Light signalling to the zebrafish circadian clock by Cryptochrome 1a. PNAS 104: 14712-14717.
- Carr, A.J. and Whitmore, D. (2005) Imaging of single light responsive clock cells reveals fluctuating free-running periods. Nature Cell Biology 7: 319-321.
- Carr, A.J. and Whitmore, D. (2005) Peripheral Time: Clocks in Organs and Cells. The Biochemist 27: 22-26.
- Tamai, T.K., Vardhanabhuti, V., Foulkes, N.S. and Whitmore, D. (2004) Early Embryonic Light Detection Improves Survival. Current Biology 14: 104-105.
- Dekens, M.P., Santoriello, C., Vallone, D., Grassi, G., Whitmore, D. and Foulkes, N.S. (2003) Light regulates the cell cycle in zebrafish. Current Biology 13: 2051-7.
- Whitmore, D., Foulkes, N.S. and Sassone-Corsi, P. (2000) Light acts directly on organs and cells in culture to set the vertebrate circadian clock. Nature 404: 87-91.
- Whitmore, D., Foulkes, N.S., Strahle, U. and Sassone-Corsi, P. (1998) Zebrafish Clock rhythmic expression reveals independent peripheral circadian oscillators. Nature Neuroscience 1: 701-707
Page last modified on 19 jun 12 16:30 by Edward D Whitfield
