Dr Tanya Whitfield
MRC Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics
Department of Biomedical Science
The University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield S10 2TN
United Kingdom
Senior Lecturer
Room: C21 Firth Court
Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 2350
Fax: +44 114 222 2788
email : t.whitfield@sheffield.ac.uk
PhD project opportunity - 2012 entry
Dr Tanya Whitfield with Professor Nick Monk
Modelling axial polarity in the developing zebrafish ear
This project addresses a fundamental biological question: how does an initially symmetric field of cells acquire polarity and asymmetry, resulting in an asymmetric final structure? The project will use the developing zebrafish ear as a model system. A combination of experimental (genetic, molecular, imaging) and modelling techniques will be used to explore mechanisms of pattern formation and symmetry-breaking in multicellular tissues. Click here for more details.
- Poster for PhD project (PDF)
The lab welcomes enquiries about project, PhD and postdoc opportunities. We are keen to support the Erasmus exchange scheme and postdocs seeking to apply for funds such as Marie Curie and EMBO fellowships.
Career history
- 2004-present: Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield.
- 1997-2004: Lecturer, University of Sheffield.
- 1994-1997: Imperial Cancer Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellow and Linacre College Junior Research Fellow, Developmental Biology Unit, University of Oxford, and Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. Research Advisor: Dr Julian Lewis.
- 1994: EMBO Short Term Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tuebingen. Research Advisor: Professor Christiane Nuesslein-Volhard.
- 1992-1994: Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Zoology and Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research Campaign Institute, University of Cambridge. Research Advisor: Professor Chris Wylie.
- 1989-1992: Wellcome PhD student, Department of Zoology and Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research Campaign Institute, University of Cambridge. Research Advisor: Professor Chris Wylie.
- 1986-1989: BA Natural Sciences (Zoology), University of Cambridge.
Research interests
My group uses the zebrafish as a model organism to study the development of the inner ear in the embryo and the genetic causes of deafness. We are interested in early patterning and evolution of otic structures, disease modelling and fluid regulation in the ear.
Read more (link to the Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics)
Activities and distinctions
- Invited speaker at national and international meetings (recent meetings include: Fish sensory systems workshop, Minerve; UK-Asia Pacific Developmental Biology Network Joint meeting, Kobe; EMBO lecture course, Barcelona.)
- Committee member, UK Genetics Society
- Regular reviewer for scientific journals and grant awarding bodies.
Funding
Recent publications
Buck LMJ, Redfern WS, Winter MJ and Whitfield TT
Ototoxin-induced cellular damage in neuromasts disrupts lateral line function in larval zebrafish.
Hearing Research. 2012 in press.
Hammond KL, Whitfield TT.
Fgf and Hh signalling act on a symmetrical pre-pattern to specify anterior and posterior identity in the zebrafish otic placode and vesicle.
Development. 2011. 138:3977-87.
Abbas L, Hajihashemi S, Stead LF, Cooper GJ, Ware TL, Munsey TS, Whitfield TT, White SJ.
Functional and developmental expression of a zebrafish Kir1.1 (ROMK) potassium channel homologue Kcnj1.
J Physiol. 2011 Mar 15;589(Pt 6):1489-503.
Hammond KL, van Eeden FJ, Whitfield TT.
Repression of Hedgehog signalling is required for the acquisition of dorsolateral cell fates in the zebrafish otic vesicle.
Development. 2010. 137, 1361-1371.
Abbas L, Whitfield TT.
Nkcc1 (Slc12a2) is required for the regulation of endolymph volume in the otic vesicle and swim bladder volume in the zebrafish larva.
Development 2009. 136, 2837-48.
Hammond KL, Whitfield TT.
Expression of zebrafish hip: Response to Hedgehog signalling, comparison with ptc1 expression, and possible role in otic patterning.
Gene Expr Patterns. 2009. 9, 391-6.
Hammond, K. L., Loynes, H. E., Mowbray, C., Runke, G., Hammerschmidt, M., Mullins, M. C., Hildreth, V., Chaudhry, B. and Whitfield, T. T.
A Late Role for bmp2b in the Morphogenesis of Semicircular Canal Ducts in the Zebrafish Inner Ear.
PLoS ONE. 2009. 4, e4368
Dutton, K., Abbas, L., Spencer, J., Brannon, C., Mowbray, C., Kelsh, R. N. and Whitfield, T. T.
A zebrafish model for Waardenburg syndrome type IV reveals diverse roles for Sox10 in the otic vesicle.
Disease Models and Mechanisms. 2009. 2, 68-83.
Hammond, K. L., Baxendale, S., McCauley, D. W., Ingham, P. W. and Whitfield, T. T.
Expression of patched, prdm1 and engrailed in the lamprey somite reveals conserved responses to Hedgehog signalling.
Evol. Dev. 2009. 11, 27-41