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2006 Annual Report:
Developmental Biology
Research Discoveries in Developmental Biology
Before research studies are translated into new therapies
and treatments for patients in the clinical setting, they
depend on discoveries in the laboratory. The Department
of Pediatrics’ recently established Section of Developmental
Biology is well-positioned to help realize the Department’s
translational research goals. The new Section fosters close
collaborations with the School of Dentistry, two basic sciences
departments (Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Cell
and Developmental Biology) at the University of Colorado and The Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
The Section was initiated with the recruitment of Lee
Niswander, PhD, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center in New York and a team of investigators she brought
with her to Colorado. Dr. Niswander, a Howard Hughes
Investigator, is known internationally for her expertise and
research discoveries in developmental biology. Her team
focuses on understanding body growth, function and structure.
The work going on in her laboratory has tremendous potential
for application in areas such as birth defects, muscular
dystrophies and lung underdevelopment.
The collaboration with Children’s has led to new interactions
with new people in pediatric clinics and has strengthened
the interdisciplinary nature of Dr. Niswander’s work. By
talking with clinicians and professionals who see and treat
children with birth defects on a daily basis, Dr. Niswander
and her team can focus their research on relevant topics and
ultimately bring new therapies into the clinic setting.
Dr. Niswander focuses primarily on research using mouse
models. She is presently investigating how fetuses develop
in utero, how and why birth defects occur and preventive treatments
and therapies. She is also studying the genetic basis
of asthma. A sampling of her current research includes
understanding more about the developmental processes
involved in lung biology, formation of the limbs and closing
of the neural tube. For example, one of the most common
birth defects occurs when the neural tube fails to close. Women
are encouraged to take folic acid to help prevent neural tube
defects in the fetus, but it is not yet known how folic acid
works in this regard, and why it sometimes does not work to
prevent problems. By using mice, she is able to introduce
mutations into chromosomes, examine affected genes, and
ultimately determine the normal function of these genes.
This will lead to a greater understanding of how gene loss
causes birth defects and provide models to determine how
folic acid acts to prevent neural tube defects.
“The Children’s Hospital and the Department of Pediatrics
have put a great deal of effort into and care deeply about birth
defects,” Dr. Niswander observed. “We are one of just a
handful of pediatric teaching hospitals in the nation with a
developmental biology division.” The purpose of her research
is to understand childhood diseases and birth defects. “To
understand these things, you have to understand how the
baby develops,” she said.
Dr. Niswander received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry
from the University of Colorado in Boulder and her
PhD from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,
Ohio. She completed her postdoctoral training at the
University of California, San Francisco.
Looking to the future, Dr. Niswander is clear with her
purpose: “I hope to collaborate with our clinical and basic
research scientists to bridge the gap between the research
bench and the clinical setting.”
For more information, please visit the Developmental
Biology website.
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