PEOPLE

Lab Personnel

Ashley W. Seifert (PI)

Associate Professor

awseifert@uky.edu

Brianda López-Aviña

PhD Student

brianda.lavina@uky.edu

Collaborators

Malcolm Maden (pictured left in photo with Paul Martin). Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, University of Florida. Malcolm served as my postdoctoral adviser, mentor, tennis partner, and is a renowned regeneration and developmental biologist. Malcolm and I collaborate intellectually on multiple aspects of regeneration. Paul Martin was instrumental in helping inform my early work with spiny mice and conducts wound healing and regeneration research across a broad array of animals.

Spiny mouse consortium. With more biologists adopting spiny mice to study regeneration, reproduction and behavior, a spiny mouse community has begun taking shape. With a genome sequencing project complete, we continue to expand our molecular toolbox and look forward to a lifetime of productive collaborations. Pictured at right (counterclockwise from front left) David Thybert (EBI), me, Kerstin Bartscherer (Hubrect Institute), Peter Temple-Smith (Monash University), Goncalo, Shishir Biswas, Gustavo Tiscornia (Eugin). Not pictured, Aubrey Kelly (Emory), Noga Kronfeld-Schor (Tel Aviv Univ.)

Stephen G. Kiama Vice Chancellor, University of Nairobi and Professor of Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, University of Nairobi. Dr. Kiama and I are collaborating (with Vanessa Ezenwa) on research that tests how biases in immunity impacts regeneration in African spiny mice. As a visiting professor in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology I advise graduate students with Dr. Kiama working on wound healing and regeneration in mammals. We are also working together to develop opportunities that can bridge the gap between biomedical research in East Africa and the United States.

Sarah Calve (pictured at left) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UC Boulder. Dr. Calve and I share an interest in how the extracellular matrix can control cell behavior in the context of development, repair and regeneration. Sarah has been developing new methods to visualize the matrix in whole embryos and in different injury paradigms. We are currently exploring how the extracellular matrix may control the regenerative response in African spiny mice.

Vanessa Ezenwa Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University. Dr. Ezenwa and I collaborate (with Dr. Kiama) to examine how inflammation and immunity affect regenerative ability in wild populations of African spiny mice.

The Nexus Biology Group (pictured at left). Ashley W. Seifert (developmental biologist), Adrian C. Stier (community ecologist), Matthew D. Smith (behavioral and evolutionary ecologist), Bret Pasch (physiological ecologist), Francois Michonneau (evolutionary biologist) and James R. Monaghan (molecular biologist). The Nexus Biology Group is a scientific working group committed to investigating biological systems utilizing a multidisciplinary approach. Our last collaboration examined how fundamental traits affect appendage regeneration in salamanders. We are currently brainstorming our next project. Stay tuned.