Contact
Information:
Email:
kmcknigh@bccrc.ca
Tel: 604-675-8000 ext. 7724
Research
Interests:
We all begin our lives as a single
cell. Through the process
of embryogenesis this single cell transforms first into an amorphous
ball of cells and then finally into an organized group of primitive
tissues with a well defined body plan.
The formation of these primitive tissues the germ layers and
the patterning of the body plan begin at gastrulation.
During this process the three germ layers definitive endoderm,
mesoderm, and ectoderm are formed and the three major body axes
anterior-posterior, dorsal-ventral, and left-right are specified.
A specialized group of cells, collectively called the organizer,
are instrumental in these processes.
The focus of my research has been to understand what genes are
involved in formation of the mouse organizer.
In my quest for novel genes that regulate this process we
identified a novel marker of the mouse definitive endoderm, one of the
three germ layers. We are
now using this marker, as well as others identified in the lab, to
better understand definitive endoderm formation in the mouse embryo.
Postdoctoral
Fellowship (current)
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California (Developmental
Biology)
Graduate
Program
Genetics Graduate Program,
University
of British Columbia
Degrees
Bachelor of Science, First Class Honors
Concentration Cellular and Molecular Biology
Simon Fraser
University, 2002
PhD,
University
of British Columbia Genetics
Graduate Program, 2009
Hobbies
Vancouver is a beautiful city where
nature is right on our doorstep and I enjoy taking advantage of this as
often as I can. My favorite
activities include scuba diving, hiking, kayaking, and running.
Publications
McKnight KD, Hou J, Hoodless PA. Dynamic
expression of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in the mouse definitive
endoderm.Dev Dyn. 2007 Oct;236(10):2909-17.PMID: 17849455
Bowie
MB,
Kent DG, Dykstra B,
McKnight KD, McCaffrey L, Hoodless PA, Eaves CJ. Identification of a new
intrinsically timed developmental checkpoint that reprograms key
hematopoietic stem cell properties.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Apr
3;104(14):5878-82. Epub 2007 Mar 22.PMID:
17379664
Bowie MB,
McKnight KD, Kent DG, McCaffrey L, Hoodless PA, Eaves
CJ. Hematopoietic stem cells proliferate until after birth and
show a reversible phase-specific engraftment defect. J Clin
Invest. 2006 Oct;116(10):2808-16.PMID: 17016561
Mirkovic I, Charish K, Gorski SM,
McKnight K, Verheyen EM. Drosophila nemo is an
essential gene involved in the regulation of programmed cell death.Mech
Dev. 2002 Nov;119(1):9-20.PMID: 12385750