Thomas A. Drysdale
Associate Professor
Ph. D. University of
Toronto
M. Sc. University of Guelph
B. Sc. University of Guelph
Office: Victoria Research Labs, Room
A5-138
Phone: (519) 685-8500 Ext. 55072
Fax: (519) 685-8186
E-mail:
tadrysda@uwo.ca
Research Interest:
The goal of my lab is to understand the molecular events that are required to develop a differentiated heart and to determine what factors control the regulation of cardiac-specific gene expression. There are currently two main projects in the lab. The first uses Xenopus embryos to try and understand the multiple role for retinoic acid signaling in early heart development. The second is to understand the role of RNA-binding proteins in cardiac development. We have now knocked out a specific RNA-binding protein called hermes in the mouse and have found that it is necessary for early development. Analysis of these mice is ongoing.
We utilize a combination of classical embryology, molecular biology and genome manipulation to look at these challenging questions.
Selected Publications:
• Collop, A. H., Broomfield, J. A. S., Kolker, S.J., Chandraratna, R. A. S., Weeks, D.L. and Drysdale, T. A. (2006) Retinoic acid signaling is essential for multiple events in early cardiogenesis. Developmental Biology 291, 96-109.
• Garriock, R. J. and Drysdale, T. A. (2003) Regulation of heart size in Xenopus laevis. Differentiation 71, 1-10
• Duan, L. J., Broomfield, J. A. S. and Drysdale, T. A. (2003) Expression of Muscle LIM protein during early development in Xenopus laevis. Int. J. Dev. Biol. 47, 299-302.
• Patterson, K. D., Drysdale, T. A., and Krieg, P. A. (2000). Embryonic origins of spleen asymmetry. Development 127: 167-175.
See Publications by Thomas Drysdale on PubMed