David R. Sherwood, Assistant Professor
Education:
Ph.D., Duke University, 1997
Postdoctoral Fellowship, California Institute of Technology, 1999
B.A., Illinois Wesleyan University, 1990
Office Location: FFSC: 4216
Office Phone: (919) 613-8192
Email Address: david.sherwood@duke.edu
Web Page: http://web.me.com/dsherwoo/Sherwood_Lab/Welcome.html
Specialties:
Cell and Molecular Biology
Developmental Biology
Genetics
Research Categories: Genetic analysis of development in C. elegans: modeling cell invasive behavior
Current projects: (1) Identifying Fos-1 transcriptional targets that promote basement membrane removal during invasion, (2) time-lapse analysis of anchor cell invasion using GFP variant tagged anchor cell and basement membrane components, (3) characterizing new genes recently identified as promoting anchor cell invasion and whole genome RNAi and EMS screens to identify additional genes, (4) understanding basement membrane composition and the regulation of invasive-behavior, (5) investigating the evolution of cell-invasive mechanisms, (6) identifying and characterizing additional cell-invasion events in C. elegans development.
Research Description: The ability of cells to invade through basement membrane, the thin, dense, barrier-like extracellular matrix that surrounds most tissues, is crucial for many developmental processes and human diseases, and remains the least understood aspect in the progression of cancer. An understanding of the mechanisms that control cell invasion has been limited by the lack of in vivo models where the dynamic interactions of the invading cell and basement membrane can be experimentally dissected. Anchor cell invasion into the vulval epithelium in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans represents a new model where such analysis is now possible. Connection of the uterus and vulva in C. elegans is initiated by the uterine anchor cell, which breaches the basement membranes separating both tissues to form a connection with the central vulval cells. Our group combines sophisticated genetic, genomic, cell biological and live-cell imaging approaches to understand the mechanisms that underlie anchor cell invasion. Our studies indicate that many of these mechanisms are conserved with vertebrate cell invasion, and we have begun to extend our work into highly metastatic cancer cell lines. We are also interested in gaining an understanding of the evolution of cell-invasive behavior and are examining anchor cell invasion in different nematode species. Members of our group will be trained in a diverse range of scientific approaches and will join a vibrant scientific community at Duke University, the Research Triangle region and the worldwide group of worm researchers.
Areas of Interest:
Morphogenesis
Cancer
Development
Cell Biology
Recent Publications (More Publications) (search)
- J.W. Ziel and D.R. Sherwood, Roles for Netrin signaling outside of axon guidance: a view from the worm, Developmental Dynamics (In Press) (Accepted, December, 2009) .
- D.Q. Matus, X-Y Li, S. Durbin, D. Agarwal, Q. Chi, S. J. Weiss, D. R. Sherwood, Identification of novel regulators of cell invasion across basement membrane in vivo., Science Signaling (In Revision) (Submitted, December, 2009) .
- EJ Hagedorn, H Yashiro, JW Ziel, S Ihara, Z Wang, DR Sherwood, Integrin acts upstream of netrin signaling to regulate formation of the anchor cell's invasive membrane in C. elegans., Developmental Cell, United States, vol. 17 no. 2 (August, 2009), pp. 187-98 [abs].
- JW Ziel, DQ Matus, DR Sherwood, An expression screen for RhoGEF genes involved in C. elegans gonadogenesis., Gene expression patterns : GEP, vol. 9 no. 6 (June, 2009), pp. 397-403 [abs].
- D Sherwood, David Sherwood: invasive procedures. Interview by Ben Short., The Journal of cell biology, United States, vol. 185 no. 4 (May, 2009), pp. 568-9 .
Duke Biology Box 90338 Durham, NC 27708 Phone: 919-660-7372 Fax: 919-660-7293