2015 Trainees -
Dheeraj Ravilla (AU, CURS Program)
Clara Formby (Erskine College, STAR Program)
Michelle Cooper (ABAC, Post-Bacc temp tech)
2016 Trainees -
Maggie Xia and Aarushi Kalra (AU, CURS Program)
Inquiries from prospective STAR, CURS, and Medical Scholar trainees are encouraged. At this time, the LeMosy lab is unable to support PhD or post-doctoral trainees.
Our overall interest is in how proteins and carbohydrates in the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment regulate signals transmitted between cells. Our perspective and tools are those of cell and developmental biologists. Signaling pathways important for development of organisms are re-utilized in repair, regeneration and aging. We use the developmental model systems of fruit flies and zebrafish, which offer powerful genetic tools and ready visualization of tissue morphogenesis, cell migration, and pathway activation in whole embryos. Because secreted signals must undergo tight spatial and temporal regulation in vivo, as compared to in cell or tissue culture studies, development offers strong models for determining regulatory mechanisms.
Some questions of current interest include:
How does a matrix protein regulate both formation of the craniofacial skeleton in zebrafish, and left-right patterning of its heart?
How do extracellular matrix carbohydrates and spatial cues regulate the activity state and localization of signaling molecules during fruit fly embryonic patterning?
These are described: Research Page.
Potential impacts of the research are both fundamental and applied. Fundamental knowledge includes increased understanding of how Wnt, EGF, and NGF-related signals are controlled between the time they are secreted and the time they bind their cell surface receptors. These signals play important roles in prenatal development and birth defects, as well as in numerous injury responses and disease states, most notably cancer.
Some methods currently used include confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis, transgenic and tissue-specific expression, e.g., Gal4-UAS system in flies, proteomics, glycomics, cell culture, and standard molecular biology and biochemical techniques.
1984 | BS, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1993 | PhD, Duke University, Durham, NC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1993 | MD, Duke University, Durham, NC |
1994-2000 | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CTDept. of Cell Biology, Lab of Carl Hashimoto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000-2001 | Associate Research Scientist, Yale University, New Haven, CT |
Member, American Heart Association Peer Review Committees, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016
Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
NRSA F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, NICHD
Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Heart Association
NIH R01, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 2004-2009, NCE to 9/12
Spatial control of proteolysis in dorsoventral polarity
ARRA Supplement to above R01, 2009-2010, NCE to 9/11
March of Dimes Research Grant, 2010-2013
Glycan spatial regulators of extracellular signals in oogenesis and early embryo patterning
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, Charles R. Silbereisen Fund, 2002-present
Developmental signaling in embryonic patterning and organogenesis
AU Pilot Study Research Program Grant, 2/14-1/15
Early craniofacial defects associated with reduced zTINAGL1, the zebrafish ortholog
of a
secreted Wnt-binding protein (PI, Ellen LeMosy; Co-I, David Kozlowski)
AU Pilot Study Research Program Grant, 10/09-3/11
Function of a conserved matricellular cathepsin B-like protein in fruitfly and zebrafish
models (PI, Ellen LeMosy; Co-I, Jeffrey Mumm)
MCG/UGA Seed Grant Initiative on Diabetes, Obesity and Related Disorders, 9/03-6/04
Functional analysis of the prohormone processing protease amontillado (amon) during
insulin signaling in Drosophila (equal co-investigator with Michael Bender, Dept. of
Genetics, UGA)
CURS Supply Grant (for project of Dheeraj Ravilla), Fall 2015
STAR Supply Support (for project of Clara Formby), Summer 2015
Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (to Michael B. Dinkins, Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program Student), American Heart Association, Greater Southeast Affiliate, 2008-2010Functional role of a conserved cathepsin B-like extracellular matrix protein during development
MCG, Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship (to Bennett Gardner, medical student), 2007 Extracellular matrix TIN-ag: functions in epithelial morphogenesis and repair
MCG, Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship (to Tambrea Ellison, medical student), 2005 Role of a Drosophila hemolymph protein in innate immunity and in embryo patterning
See list of research articles and invited reviews at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=lemosy+ek
Dr. LeMosy has experienced a significant break in publications secondary to illness. She is working diligently toward publishing a backlog of manuscripts on studies performed in recent years.
Glycobiology Gordon Conference, Ventura, CA – January 2009
The continuing saga of Pipe and glycosaminoglycans in Drosophila embryonic axis patterning:
new input from biochemical and functional approaches. (Talk)
SE Society for Developmental Biology Meeting, UAB – March 2009
Spatial cues in the extracellular matrix for early embryonic development. Invited Session Chair Talk, Patterning and Morphogenesis Session
7th Annual Glycosymposium: Emerging paradigms in glycobiology, CCRC, UGA – October 2012
What does Pipe do? Finding a function and glycan target for a modifying enzyme important
for Drosophila embryo patterning.
Invited Plenary Talk, Developmental Glycobiology Session
11th International Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, Madison, WI – 6/2014
Early craniofacial defects occur following knockdown of the extracellular matrix protein,
TINAGL1. (Poster)