MBI PhD Qualifying Exam
Time: 10am
Date: 28 March 2019, Thursday
Venue: NUS, E3-06-13 Tutorial Room
Supervisor: Prof Michael Sheetz
Harnessing the proliferative activity of YAP through optogenetics for regenerative medicine
By: Toh Jia Ying Pearlyn, Sheetz Lab
The Hippo-YAP pathway is crucial in organ size control during development and regeneration, and during pathological processes such as tumorigenesis. One downstream transcriptional co-activator Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a key effector of the pathway, where its activity and localization regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis. It has been shown that YAP can promote regeneration in mice liver, but therapeutic activation of YAP can have negative side effects as prolonged activation causes cancer development in mice. Therefore, my project aims to develop a tightly spatial and temporal controlled activation system of YAP using optogenetics to harness its proliferative activity in a safe way. A transgenic zebrafish model that harbors the optogenetic YAP will be generated to study fin regeneration during the larval stage. These developments will contribute to understanding and paving the way for YAP in regenerative medicine.
**Please note the examination following the seminar is closed-door**
