Dr John Mason
- Dr John Mason
- Reader
- Centre for Integrative Physiology
- Hugh Robson Building
- 15 George Square
- Edinburgh
- EH8 9XD
- Work: +44 (0)131 650 6820
- Email:
- John.Mason@ed.ac.uk
We are interested in the molecular mechanisms that regulate embryonic development of the forebrain.
Personal profile
I graduated in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh and studied for my PhD at the MRC laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
Following a stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco I returned to the University of Edinburgh, initially the Centre for Genome Research and subsequently Biomedical Sciences.
Research
We are interested in the molecular mechanisms that regulate embryonic development of the forebrain.
In particular, we study the roles played by several regulatory genes including the transcripion factors Gli3, Foxg1 and Pax6 and the Wnt family of developmental regulators.
Techniques employed in the laboratory include the use of gene-targeting in embryonic stem cells to generate 'knockout' mice.
Such mice are invaluable tools in the analysis of mechanisms underlying complex developmental processes.
In collaboration with David Price and John West, we are using cre-loxP mediated tissue-specific gene-targeting and chimaera analysis to study the roles played by the transcription factors Gli3, Foxg1 and Pax6 in multiple aspects of brain development.
Other projects include an investigation of the roles played by heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPG) in regulating forebrain development, in collaboration with Val Wilson of the Institute for Stem Cell Research (ISCR) in the University of Edinburgh.
Norshariza Nordin, a PhD student in the lab is studying the role of Wnt signalling in regulating neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells jointly supervised by Meng Li, also at ISCR.
Medulloblastoma is the most common type of brain tumour in children. It is thought that the tumour suppressor gene Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC, component of the Wnt signalling pathway) can contribute to the development of medulloblastoma.
Dennis McCaffery, a PhD student in the lab is investigating this connection in a project funded by the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR).
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Funding
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Wellcome Trust
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
Team members
- Hayden Selvadurai
Collaborations
- David Price, University of Edinburgh
- John West, University of Edinburgh
- Val Wilson, University of Edinburgh
- Ian Whittle, University of Edinburgh
- Stefan Hoppler, Aberdeen University
Publications
Mi, D., Carr, C.B., Georgala, P.A., Huang Y-T., Manuel, M.N., Jeanes, E., Niisato, E., Sansom, S.N., Livesey, F.J., Theil, T., Hasenpusch-Theil, K., Simpson, T.I, Mason, J.O. and Price, D.J. (2013) Pax6 exerts regional control of cortical progenitor proliferation via direct repression of Cdk6 and hypophosphorylation of pRb Neuron 78: 269-284
Amaniti, E.M., Hasenpusch-Theil, K., Li, Z., Magnani, D., Kessaris, N., Mason, J.O. and Theil, T. (2013) Gli3 is required in Emx1+ progenitors for the development of the corpus callosum Developmental Biology 376: 113-124
Pratt, T., Davey, J.W., Nowakowski, T.J., Raasumaa, C., Rawlik, K.C., McBride, D., Clinton, M., Mason, J.O. and Price, D.J. (2012) The expression and activity of beta-catenin in the thalamus and its projections to the cerebral cortex. BMC Neuroscience 13:20.
Selvadurai, H. and Mason, J.O. (2012) Activation of Wnt/????-catenin signalling affects differentiation of cells arising from the cerebellar ventricular zone PLoS One 7(8): e42572 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042572
Selvadurai HJ, and Mason JO. (2011) Wnt/β-catenin Signalling is Active in a Highly Dynamic Pattern During Development of the Mouse Cerebellum. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23012. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023012
Price, D.J., Jarman, A.P., Mason, J.O. and Kind, P.C. (2011) Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development Wiley-Blackwell ISBN-10:0470712295 A new textbook aimed at undergraduates and others new to the field of developmental neurobiology.
Fotaki, V., Price, D.J. and Mason, J.O. (2011) Wnt/β-catenin signalling is disrupted in the extratoes (Gli3Xt/Xt) mutant from early stages of forebrain development, concomitant with anterior neural plate patterning defects J.Comp. Neurol. 9: 1640-1657
Manuel, M.N., Martynoga, B.S., Molinek, M.D., Quinn, J.C., Kroemmer, C., Mason, J.O. and Price, D.J. (2011) The transcription factor Foxg1 regulates telencephalic progenitor proliferation cell autonomously, in part by controlling Pax6 expression levels. Neural Development 6:9
Conway, C.D., Howe, K., Nettleton, N., Price, D.J., Mason, J.O. and Pratt, T. (2011) Heparan sulphate sugar modifications mediate the functions of Slits and other factors needed for mouse forebrain commissure development. J. Neuroscience 31: 2009-2015
Manuel, M., Martynoga, B.S., Yu, T., West, J.D., Mason, J.O. and Price, D.J. (2010) The transcription factor Foxg1 regulates the competence of telencephalic cells to adopt subpallial fates in mice. Development 137:487-497.
This article was published on May 3, 2013