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Profile
| Academic position | Full Professor |
|---|---|
| Research fields | Cell Biology,General Genetics, Functional Genome Research,Sensory and Behavioural Biology |
| Keywords | Cilia, Wnt signaling, Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), Retinal degeneration, Ciliopathies |
Current contact address
| Country | Germany |
|---|---|
| City | Mainz |
| Institution | Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz |
| Institute | Institute of Molecular Physiology imP |
Host during sponsorship
| Prof. Dr. Uwe Wolfrum | Institut für Zoologie, Abt. Zell + Matrix Biologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz |
|---|---|
| Start of initial sponsorship | 01/12/2014 |
Programme(s)
| 2014 | Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Programme |
|---|
Nominator's project description
| Dr. Helen May-Simera from the National Eye Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A. Over the last decade, primary cilia have been identified as multifunctional organelles, i.e. as signaling platforms cilia represent the antennae of the cell sensing environmental conditions and thereby, regulating essential morphogenic programs. Primary cilia are found on the surface of virtually all eukaryotic cells and a fast growing number of human diseases have been shown to be caused directly by defects in the primary cilia function. Dr. Helen May-Simera has developed particular interest on primary cilia and their dysfunctions in ‘ciliopathies’ throughout her scientific career. Already during her PhD thesis she had started her work on ciliary signaling which she has elaborated as Postdoctoral and currently as Research Fellow at the National Institute of Health (NIDCD and NEI). Her objective now will be to determine the extent to which cilia contribute to Wnt signaling of the retinal pigment epithelium and to delineate this role of the cilium in retinal degenerations. Dr. Helen May-Simera is hosted by Prof. Dr. Uwe Wolfrum at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. |