Sarah Hughes
Professor
8-42 Medical Sciences Building
Office: 780.492.8984
Lab: 780.492.2038
Email: sarah.hughes@ualberta.ca
Regulation of cell polarity, proliferation and differentiation and how dysregulation of these processes can lead to developmental disorders and cancer.
Research Areas:
Epithelial cell polarity and adhesion, Neural stem cells, Regulation of proliferation and differentiation, tumour suppressor proteins, cancer, post-transcriptional regulation, Developmental disorders, Neurofibromatosis Type 2, Schwannomatosis, Atypical Rhabdoid Tumours.
Research Interests:
We study the molecular mechanisms that link polarity, proliferation and differentiation in epithelial cells and neural stem cells (see video below). We are also interested in how dysregulation of these processed can lead to developmental disorders and tumorigenesis. Specifically, we use Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) as a genetic model to study Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), Atypical Rhabdoid Tumours, and Schwannomatosis which are inherited cancers of the brain and the nervous system. The molecular mechanisms underlying the etiology of these diseases are not understood. To address this question, we are using multiple approaches including molecular biology, advanced microscopy, proteomics and genetic analyses using animal and cell culture models to investigate the mechanisms of regulation underlying these disorders via identification and characterization of interacting proteins and cell signaling pathways.
Selected Publications:
A chromatin remodelling SWI/SNF subunit, Snr1, regulates neural stem cell determination and differentiation.
Keegan SE, Haskins J, Simmonds AJ, Hughes SC. Development. 2023 Jul 1;150(13):dev201484. doi: 10.1242/dev.201484. Epub 2023 Jun 30.
Role of Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Protein Localization During Drosophila Neuroblast Development
Sophie E Keegan , Sarah C Hughes Genome 2020 Jun 11. doi: 10.1139/gen-2020-0039. Online ahead of print.
Drosophila mRNA Localization During Later Development: Past, Present, and Future.
Hughes SC, Simmonds AJ. Front Genet. 2019 Mar 7;10:135. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00135. eCollection 2019.PMID: 30899273
Moesin is involved in polarity maintenance and cortical remodelling during asymmetric cell division.
Namal Abeysundara, Andrew J. Simmonds, and Sarah C. Hughes. 2017.
Mol. Biol. Cell mbc.E17-05-0294; First Published on December 27, 2017; doi:10.1091/mbc.E17-05-0294
Loss of the Drosophila melanogaster RNA binding protein Ddx1 leads to reduced size and aberrant gametogenesis.
Devon R Germain, Lei Li, Matthew R Hildebrandt, Andrew J. Simmonds, Sarah C. Hughes, and Roseline Godbout. (2015). Developmental Biology 407(2): 232-45.
Interaction with the effector Dynamin-Related Protein 1 (Drp1) is an ancient function of Rab32 subfamily proteins.
Carolina Ortiz Sandoval, Sarah Hughes, Joel Dacks, Thomas Simmen. (2014).
Cellular Logistics. 4(4): e986399-7.
Regulation of cell proliferation and adhesion by means of a novel region of drosophila merlin interacting with Sip1.
Abeysundara N, Leung AC, Primrose DA, Hughes SC.
Dev Dyn. 2014 Dec;243(12):1554-70. Epub 2014 Oct 1.
The Smc5/Smc6/MAGE complex confers resistance to caffeine and genotoxic stress in Drosophila melanogaster.
Li X, Zhuo R, Tiong S, Di Cara F, King-Jones K, Hughes SC, Campbell SD, Wevrick R.
PLoS One. 2013;(8)3:e59866. Epub 2013 Mar 28.
There are a limited number of positions for undergraduate students in the lab working on projects addressing the role of proteins in early brain development and analysis of post transcriptional and post translational regulation of identified proteins of interest.
Before you apply, make sure to read Dr. Hughes' papers and learn the impact of mutations on proteins such as Snr1. The figure below is from her 2023 article entitled, "A chromatin remodelling SWI/SNF subunit, Snr1, regulates neural stem cell determination and differentiation" in the journal, Development.
Post-doctoral Fellow: Sophie Keegan
Graduate Students: Nguyen Cai, Maryam Khandani
Technicians: Julie Haskins, Kyle Kohls-Wiebe
Sophie Keegan – PhD 2024 (Cell Biology Program)
Namal Abeysundara - PhD 2017 (Medical Genetics Program)
Kirsten Arnold - MSc 2016 (Medical Genetics Program)
Sophia Yip - MSc 2014 (Medical Genetics Program)
Yang Yang – MSc 2013 (Cell Biology Program)
Albert Leung - MSc 2011 (Medical Genetics Program)