Cilia and Flagella

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Abstract

Cilia and flagella are microtubule-based, rod-shaped organelles present on the surface of a variety of eukaryotic cells. They function in cell locomotion, flow of extracellular fluid across cell surfaces as well as in perception and integration of signals from the cellular surroundings. In vertebrates, cilia are critical for regulating developmental processes and tissue homeostasis. Consequently, genetic defects that impair ciliary function or assembly lead to a growing number of different human diseases. This class of diseases, called ciliopathies, is often pleiotropic affecting multiple organs and tissues in the body.

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Fabian Schmid obtained his PhD in Human Genetics in 2011 from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. In January 2012, he started working in his current position as a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He currently studies the role of cilia in regulating specific signaling pathways in mammalian cells.

Søren T. Christensen obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology in 1995 from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow from 1996 to 1998 at the Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; and from 1998 to 2000 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. From 2000 to 2013, he was Assistant and Associate Professor at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark where he is full professor currently. His research focuses on the role of primary cilia in coordination of various signaling pathways during development and in tissue homeostasis.

Lotte B. Pedersen obtained her PhD in Medical Microbiology in 1996 from the University of Aarhus, Denmark. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow from 1997 to 2000 at the Department of Biochemistry, UConn Health Center in Farmington, CT, USA and from 2000 to 2005 at the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. In 2005, she became Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 2009 she has been Associate Professor at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on mechanisms of ciliary assembly and how primary cilia coordinate various signaling pathways.

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