Fiona Watt

Fiona Watt
Born 28 March 1956 (age 62)
Alma mater
Spouse(s) Jim Cuthbert Smith
Awards
Website http://www.wattlab.org
Scientific career
Fields Regenerative medicine
Institutions
Thesis Microtubule organizing centres in cells in culture and in hybrids derived from them
Doctoral advisor Henry Harris
Academic advisor Howard Green

Fiona Watt, FRS FMedSci (born 28th March 1956) is a British scientist who is internationally known for detailing the mechanisms that control epidermal stem cell renewal, differentiation, and tissue aggregation. She is also known for discovering how each of those processes' regulations are removed in diseased cells. She is director of the Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at Kings College London, and executive chair of the MRC.[1]

She became the first woman president of the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) in 2008,[2] and has advocated on behalf of women in science.[3][4] Previsouly she held the position of Deputy Director at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research.[5][6][7] Since 2013, she has co-led the Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative (HipSci). HipSci aims to the generate and characterise a large collection of human induced pluripotent stem cells, in order to discover how genomic variation affects cellular phenotype and to identify new mechanisms of disease[3].

Early life

Watt was born on the 28th of March 1956.[8] Fiona Watt knew she wanted to be a scientist from a very young age. She even had her own lab coat in which she pretended she was a chemist, playing with her chemistry set. She is so passionate about her career that she was quoted saying, "I think that being a scientist is in a sense hardwired, and there are people who just couldn't conceive of being anything else."[9]

Career

Fiona Watt obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences in 1976, and her Masters degree in 1979, both at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge University, where she was the only female graduate student in her department.[8] She also obtained her Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford in 1979, supervised by Henry Harris, naming her thesis "Microtubule-organizing centers in cells in culture and in hybrids derived from them".[9][10] Professor Watt, then, completed a two-year postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, with Dr. Howard Green. Upon returning to the UK, she founded her first lab at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London where she became Head of the Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, and in 1987, relocated to the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute where, until 2006, she served as Head of the Keratinocyte Laboratory. Currently, Watt is the Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Cambridge, Deputy Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research – University of Cambridge, and also Deputy Director of Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute (formerly known as the Imperial Cancer Research Fund). She is a member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Academy of Medical Sciences fellow, and Royal Society fellow.[9][11]

In 2011, Professor Watt was chosen to become Director of the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, a department of King's College London that intends to promote collaboration between scientists and clinicians to enhance the progress of the potential of stem cells into clinical reality for patients. As of January 2012, Watt began organising previous research findings at King's College and proceeded to institute her own research program involving the use of stem cells in regenerative medicine and disease, especially the development and renewal of epidermal stem cells.[12]

Her major research interest is in the role of stem cells in adult tissue maintenance. For many of her studies, she uses mammalian epidermis as a model system, both in the context of genetically modified mice and epidermal reconstitution in culture.

Some of her current projects are exploring self-renewal and lineage selection by human and mouse epidermal stem cells, the role of stem cells in epidermal and oral tumor formation, and the nature of mesenchymal cells in skin. She also actively collaborates with bioengineers and chemists to study stem cell-niche interactions in vitro. Her lab is particularly concerned with the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the regulation of the cell fate decisions.[11]

She collaborates with bioinformaticians and computational biologists who are helping explore stem cell heterogeneity at single cell resolution. With Richard Durbin at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute I lead HIPSCI – the Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative – to examine how genetic variation between cells impacts on their phenotypic behaviour in culture.[13]

Stem cell research

In Watt's lab, the researchers study the adult mammalian epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, which is maintained throughout life by the differentiation of stem cells into hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and interfollicular epidermis. Generally, these stem cells remain dormant and do not divide, but proliferation is initiated by damage. Professor Watt's lab and others have discovered many stem cells markers including high expression of 1 integrins, but their goal is to determine whether or not stem cell markers are hard-wired or expressed due to certain environmental cues depending on where the stem cells are located.

During this process, researchers in Watt's lab found that most of these cell surface markers control behaviour of the stem cells and certain factors affect those behaviours. Two factors that Watt's lab investigate are the enzyme Rho GTPase Rac1 and c-Myc, a proto-oncogene. Watt and colleagues found that Rac1 is required for maintaining epidermal stem cells by deleting Rac1 in adult epidermal cells which caused an increase in proliferation resulting in premature terminal differentiation.

Another factor that Watt's lab studies is β-catenin. High levels of β-catenin cause ectopic hair follicle development in adult epidermal cells. Watt's lab has studied β-catenin by fusing it to a mutant oestrogen receptor. Through this process, timing and location of activation of β-catenin can be controlled. These researchers found that ectopic hair follicles induced by β-catenin possess cells which have stem cell properties. The future goal of the lab is to discover the interaction of different signalling pathways, and the different feedback mechanisms to control pathway activations.

Watt's lab also studies epidermal tumors, including the different signalling pathways and oncogenic mutations. The researchers have found that some tumors in sebaceous glands contain mutations in LEF1, a transcription factor that leads to β-catenin inhibition.[14]

Awards, recognitions, and accomplishments

Past and present positions

  • 2012–present Director of the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, King"s College London School of Medicine
  • 2006–2012 Deputy Director, Cambridge CR-UK Institute (since September 2005); Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics, Cambridge University and Deputy Director, Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research; Fellow of St John"s College
  • 1987–2006 Head of Keratinocyte Laboratory, CR-UK London Research Institute (formerly Imperial Cancer Research Fund), Principal Scientist 1992
  • 1981–1986 Head of Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, London
  • 1979–1981 Postdoctoral Associate, M.I.T., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • 1976–1979 Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford – D.Phil.

Editorial boards

  • Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy
  • eLIFE Sciences
  • EMBO Molecular Medicine
  • Expert Review of Dermatology, Cell Stem Cell
  • Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology
  • StemBook, the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology

Memberships

  • Academia Europaea (since 2009)
  • Cell and Developmental Biology
  • European Molecular Biology Organization (since 1999)
  • "Faculty of 1000" Online Review Service
  • Fondazione Piemontese per la Ricerca sul Cancro
  • Harvard Stem Cell Institute
  • Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) of Kyoto University
  • Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
  • Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA)
  • International Society for Stem Cell Research board of directors*North East England Stem Cell Institute
  • Ontario-wide Stem Cell Initiative and Centre for Commercialization in Regenerative Medicine
  • Scientific Advisory Boards of the Canadian Stem Cell Network
  • Steering Committee for the UK Stem Cell Bank
  • Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression
  • Wellcome Trust Investigator Awards Expert Review Group

Fellows

  • Academy of Medical Sciences (since 2000)
  • Royal Society (since 2003)[15]

Honors and awards

  1. 1990 – Biological Council Medal
  2. 1999 – William Montagna Award of the American Society for Investigative Dermatology
  3. 1999–2006 – President of the British Society for Cell Biology
  4. 2001 – Tanioku Memorial Lectureship, Prize of Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology
  5. 2001 – CE.R.I.E.S. (CEntre de Recherches et d'Investigations Epidermiques et Sensorielles) Research Award of Chanel
  6. 2003 – FEDERA award of the Dutch Federation of Medical Scientific Societies
  7. 2004 – William Harvey Lecture, St Bartholomew's hospital, London
  8. 2006 – Almroth Wright Lecture, Imperial College London
  9. 2006 – Ebling Award of the European Hair Research Society
  10. 2008 – President, International Society for Stem Cell Research
  11. 2008 – Honorary Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  12. 2008 – ASCB Women in Cell Biology Senior Award
  13. 2009 – Distinguished lecturer, International Association for Dental Research

Personal Life

Watt married Sir James C Smith in 1979, they have two sons and one daughter.[8]

Publications

  • Lane, SW; Williams, DA; Watt, FM (2014). "Modulating the stem cell niche for tissue regeneration". Nat Biotechnol. 32: 795–803. doi:10.1038/nbt.2978. PMC 4422171. PMID 25093887.
  • Kretzschmar, K; Watt, FM (2014). "Markers of Epidermal Stem Cell Subpopulations in Adult Mammalian Skin". Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 4: a013631. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a013631. PMC 4200210. PMID 24993676.
  • Driskell, R; Jahoda, CA; Chuong, CM; Watt, F; Horsley, V (2014). "Defining dermal adipose tissue". Exp Dermatol. 23: 629–631. doi:10.1111/exd.12450. PMC 4282701. PMID 24841073.
  • Donati, G; Proserpio, V; Lichtenberger, BM; Natsuga, K; Sinclair, R; Fujiwara, H; Watt, FM (April 2014). "Epidermal Wnt/β-catenin signaling regulates adipocyte differentiation via secretion of adipogenic factors". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 111 (15): E1501–9. doi:10.1073/pnas.1312880111. PMC 3992657. PMID 24706781.
  • Driskell, RR; Lichtenberger, BM; Hoste, E; Kretzschmar, K; Simons, BD; Charalambous, M; Ferron, SR; Herault, Y; Pavlovic, G; Ferguson-Smith, AC; Watt, FM (2013). "Distinct fibroblast lineages determine dermal architecture in skin development and repair". Nature. 504 (7479): 277–81. doi:10.1038/nature12783. PMC 3868929. PMID 24336287.
  • Fujiwara, H; Ferreira, M; Donati, G; Marciano, DK; Linton, JM; Sato, Y; Hartner, A; Sekiguchi, K; Reichardt, LF; Watt, FM (2011). "The basement membrane of hair follicle stem cells is a muscle cell niche". Cell. 144 (4): 577–89. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.01.014. PMC 3056115. PMID 21335239.
  • Mulder, KW; Wang, X; Escriu, C; Ito, Y; Schwarz, RF; Gillis, J; Sirokmány, G; Donati, G; Uribe-Lewis, S; Pavlidis, P; Murrell, A; Markowetz, F; Watt, FM (2012). "Diverse epigenetic strategies interact to control epidermal differentiation". Nat. Cell Biol. 14 (7): 753–63. doi:10.1038/ncb2520. PMID 22729083.
  • Trappmann, B; Gautrot, JE; Connelly, JT; Strange, DG; Li, Y; Oyen, ML; Cohen Stuart, MA; Boehm, H; Li, B; Vogel, V; Spatz, JP; Watt, FM; Huck, WT (May 2012). "Extracellular-matrix tethering regulates stem-cell fate". Nat Mater. 11 (7): 642–9. doi:10.1038/nmat3339. PMID 22635042. Erratum in: Nat Mater. 2012 Aug;11(8):742. PMID 22635042

References

  1. ↑ MRC, Medical Research Council, (2018-04-04). "Professor Fiona Watt new Executive Chair of the MRC". mrc.ukri.org. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  2. ↑ Baker, Monya (10 July 2008). "Fiona Watt: expanding niches for stem cell researchers". Nature Reports Stem Cells. doi:10.1038/stemcells.2008.105. ISSN 1754-8705. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  3. 1 2 Girard, Lisa (26 September 2013). "Fiona Watt talks with StemBook about the epidermis, the Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative, and women in science". StemBook. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Watt, Fiona M. (2018-03-29). "(More) women in science". Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. doi:10.1038/s41580-018-0006-1. ISSN 1471-0080.
  5. ↑ "World-leading stem cell expert to lead new Centre". King's Health Partners. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  6. ↑ University of Cambridge – School of the Biological Sciences – Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research – Epidermal Stem Cell Biology – Fiona Watt
  7. ↑ "Fiona Watt, Deputy Editor". eLife, The new funder-researcher collaboration and open-access journal for outstanding advancements in life and biomedical research. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Watt, Prof. Fiona Mary, (born 28 March 1956), Director, Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, King’s College London, since 2012. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.44067.
  9. 1 2 3 Watt, F. "Balancing work and life: a conversation with Fiona Watt. Interview by Majlinda Lako and Susan Daher". Stem Cells. 27: 762–3. doi:10.1002/stem.53. PMC 2988410. PMID 19350675.
  10. ↑ Watt, Fiona M. (1979). Microtubule organizing centres in cells in culture and in hybrids derived from them (Thesis). Thesis DPhil--University of Oxford.
  11. 1 2 "Professor Fiona M. Watt FRS FMedSci", King's College London, 18 November 2014
  12. ↑ "World-leading Stem Cell Expert to Lead New Centre ", King's Health Partners, 18 November 2014
  13. ↑ "About Us", Watt Lab: Stem Cells in Their Environment, 18 November 2014
  14. ↑ "Epidermal Stem Cell Biology: Fiona Watt", University of Cambridge, 18 November 2014
  15. ↑ "Female-Fellows of the Royal Society" (PDF), The Royal Society, retrieved 28 December 2013
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.