About us
The Developmental and Regenerative Dermatology Laboratory
The developmental and regenerative dermatology laboratory studies the genetic processes that govern development, homeostasis and regeneration of the skin in the mouse. Our research aims at understanding the genetic and molecular basis of common human regenerative skin diseases such as skin cancer and eczema.
The lab made the pivotal discovery that Yes-associated protein (YAP) functions as a key molecular switch in epidermal stem/progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation (Beverdam et al., JID 2013). Currently investigate the developmental genetic context in which YAP functions to control skin stem/progenitor cells in normal and in disrupted skin biology. We employ genetically manipulated mouse models, human patient skin biopsies, advanced imaging technology including confocal microscopy, whole mouse in vivo imaging, atomic force and intravital microscopy, gene and protein expression analyses and whole genome approaches to address our research questions. Our research will open up exciting new avenues for the development of treatments for human regenerative skin disease.
Dr Annemiek Beverdam
Dr. Annemiek Beverdam is a mouse developmental geneticist with special interest in skin development and regeneration, and in the genetic basis of human skin disease. She obtained her PhD in the laboratory of Dr Frits Meijlink at the Hubrecht Institute in The Netherlands. Subsequently, she performed a short postdoctoral research project in the lab of Dr Giovanni Levi in Genova, Italy. Then she moved to the IMB in Brisbane, where she was postdoc in Professor Peter Koopman's laboratory. She initiated her current research interest into the role of YAP in epidermal regeneration as a Senior Postdoc in Professor Brian Key's laboratory at UQ. Her primary research focus at UNSW Sydney is the genetic context in which Yes-associated protein (YAP) functions to control normal skin regeneration, and how these processes are perturbed in skin cancer and eczema. Her research is funded by the NHMRC, and is part of a larger, long-term and ambitious goal to develop therapeutic approaches to treat human regenerative skin disease.
Opportunities
Enthusiastic, bright and hard-working undergraduate and postgraduate students and postdocs who are interested in research projects that concern the developmental and regenerative biology of the skin, should contact Dr. Annemiek Beverdam for further information. (A.Beverdam@unsw.edu.au)
Courses
ANAT2341/embryology – course co-convener
ANAT3212/microscopy – course co-convener (with Dr. Renee Whan)
BGDA/BGDB embryology and histology
Team
Resources & tools
Publications (since 2013)
- Corley SM.*, Mendoza-Reinoso V.*, Giles N., Singer ES., Common JE., Wilkins MR., Beverdam A. (2018) Plau and Tgfbr3 are YAP-regulated genes that promote keratinocyte proliferation. Accepted for publication in Cell Death & Disease.
- Mendoza-Reinoso, V., & Beverdam, A. (2018). YAP promotes WNT16 expression to activate canonical WNT signalling in keratinocyte proliferation. Stem Cell Research 29, pages 15-23.
- Bassem Akladios, Veronica Mendoza-Reinoso, Jason E. Cain, Taopeng Wang, Duncan L. Lambie, D. Neil Watkins and Annemiek Beverdam. Positive Regulatory Interactions between YAP and Hedgehog Signalling in Skin Homeostasis and BCC Development in Mouse Skin in vivo. PLoS ONE Aug 2017. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183178.
- Susan Maree Corley; Karen L MacKenzie; Annemiek Beverdam; Louise F Roddam; Marc R Wilkins. Differentially expressed genes from RNA-Seq and functional enrichment results are affected by the choice of single-end versus paired-end reads and stranded versus non-stranded protocols. BMC Genomics May 2017. doi: 10.1186/s12864-017-3797-0.
- Akladios B., Mendoza-Reinoso V., Samuel MS., Hardeman EC., Khosrotehrani K., Key B; Beverdam A (2017). ‘Epidermal YAP2-5SA-ΔC Drives β-Catenin Activation to Promote Keratinocyte Proliferation in the Mouse Skin in vivo’. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology March 2017. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2016.10.029.
- Liang H*, Akladios B*, Canales CP*, Francis R, Hardeman EC, Beverdam A. (2016). CUBIC protocol visualizes protein expression at single cell resolution in whole mount skin preparations JoVE Aug 4; 114. doi: 10.3791/54401
- Corley SM, Canales CP, Carmona-Mora P, Mendoza-Reinosa V, Beverdam A, Hardeman EC, Wilkins MR, Palmer SJ (2016). RNA-Seq analysis of Gtf2ird1 knockout epidermal tissue provides potential insights into molecular mechanisms underpinning Williams-Beuren syndrome. BMC Genomics, Jun 13;17: 450.
- James G., Key B., Beverdam A. (2014). The E3 ubiquitin ligase Mycbp2 genetically interacts with Robo2 to modulate axon guidance in the mouse olfactory system. Brain Structure and Function, May; 219(3): 861-74.
- James G., Foster SR., Key B., Beverdam A. (2013). The Expression Pattern of EVA1C, a Novel Slit Receptor, Is Consistent with an Axon Guidance Role in the Mouse Nervous System. PLoS One, Sep 9;8(9):e74115. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074115.
- Beverdam A., Claxton C., Conway J., James G., Harvey KF, Key B. (2013). YAP controls stem/progenitor cell proliferation in the mouse postnatal epidermis. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 133: 1497-505.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=beverdam+a
Grants & funding
NHMRC Project grant: 'Regulation of skin inflammation by mechanosensor YAP'. $604,109
NHMRC 'New Investigator' Project Grant: 'YAP and the Wnt pathway in skin biology'. $383,447
MREII equipment grant, Beverdam et al. 'Essential high-end equipment to enable non-routine histological procedures for morphology and protein and RNA expression analyses in mouse, rat and human tissue sections in vivo'. $93,527
MREII equipment grant: Whan et al., Zeiss Light sheet microscope. $575,000
Students
PhD Students
- Ms Nichole Giles (PhD student)
- Bassem Akladios (PhD student)
- Veronica Mendoza Reinoso (PhD student)
Lab Alumni
- Mr Tony Wang, 2017 BHons student
- Dr Anne-Marie Mooney, 2015 Research Assistant
- Dr Ngan Chen, 2016 postdoctoral research fellow
- Dr Tam Dinh Nguyen, 2014 Research Assistant
- Ms Nivedha Saravanan, 2014 BHons student
- Ms Lakshini Ranganathan, 2015 BHons student
- Ms Emma Singer, 2016 BHons student
- Ms Jin Lim 2016, BHons student
- Ms Yvonne Gathier (University of Groningen, The Netherlands), 2014 MSc student
- Ms Michelle Lin, 2014 research experience student
- Mr Jose Alberto Loro Pinzon (Brasil), 2015 research experience student