GSBSE Faculty Dr. Kerry Tucker at UNE publishes in the Journal of Developmental Biology
Dr. Kerry L. Tucker, Associate Professor in the Dept. of Biomedical Sciences at the University of New England, has published a research article in the journal Developmental Biology, entitled “Primary cilia are critical for Sonic hedgehog-mediated dopaminergic neurogenesis in the embryonic midbrain”. Collaborating with a research team at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany, Dr. Tucker’s laboratory has investigated the development of a population of neurons in the midbrain that are critical for coordinating movement. Degeneration of these neurons leads to the debilitating defects seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Tucker’s lab used several genetically-engineered mouse models to show that the primary cilium, a cellular organelle, is essential for normal development of this neuronal population. His laboratory is now investigating potential roles that the primary cilium may play in the degeneration process seen in Parkinson’s.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.prxy4.ursus.maine.edu/science/article/pii/S0012160615302633