Dr Denis Headon

Group Leader/Professor of Vertebrate Developmental Biology

Biography

Background

My group is interested in the genetic basis of variation in hair, wool, feathers and associated skin structures, and how these gene variants influence embryonic and lifelong development. My research career started in biomedical genetics with identification of genes underlying ectodermal dysplasia conditions – an area of ongoing activity. My interests then shifted to include addressing how gene networks define the anatomical structure of the skin and, other epithelial-mesenchymal tissues such as the intestine. I joined the Roslin Institute in 2008 to study animal and human genetics, and to define how the genetic code is interpreted to create the structure of the body's organs.

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, University College Dublin

PhD, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

Responsibilities & affiliations

Lead, Institute Strategic Programme 'Genes & Traits for Healthy Animals'

Research summary

Development, maintenance and repair of the skin and its appendages.

Current research interests

Animals display a fantastic and diverse array of structures, from hair to feathers, wool, scales and spines, to the world. These structures are important for animals that are adapting to new and changing environments, such as conferring thermal insulation or heat tolerance, and in the case of wool can be a useful agricultural product in themselves. We study the cellular and genetic basis of formation of the skin and its associated structures, and aim to understand how these microscopic processes are modulated both within and between species to give the enormous variety of skin and skin appendage types that we see today. This yields fundamental information on how the body builds tissues and organs, and provides insights into the development of traits in species important to agriculture, such as wool in sheep and feathers in chickens. We are now extending this research to other organs - in particular the intestine, which has a similar tissue organisation to that of the skin. Overall, we aim to understand how genes and cells build functioning organs and how we can use this understanding to improve agricultural traits and animal welfare, and to generate animal-free models to study skin and hair development and growth.

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