Aziz Aboobaker

Overview

Research

Publications

Opportunities

RCUK Academic Fellow (Institute Member)

Room: D113 (Medical School)

Address: Institute of Genetics, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK

Tel: +44 (0)115 823 0378 (int 30378)
Fax:
Email: aziz.aboobaker@nottingham.ac.uk

Research Overview:

1) Insights into stem cells, regeneration and ageing from immortal worms.

Planarian worms have an unparalleled capacity to regenerate and may effectively be immortal. This capacity is attributable to a population of somatic stem cells called neoblasts, that are to divide and differentiate to replace damaged and missing structures. The model planarian Schmidtea mediterranea is amenable to molecular genetic analyses and its genome has been sequenced. It is thus an excellent system with which to ask any number of basic questions, particularly those concerning stem cells, differentiation and the coordination of regenerative processes.

2) The role micro RNAs during the evolution of developmental processes.

Micro RNAs are important: they represent a class of small regulatory RNAs the ubiquity of which only became apparent in the last few years. While there functions in model systems are being elucidated their role in evolutionary processes remains understudied. Many conserved miRNAs regulate key players during development and are therefore likely to have been central in the processes that shaped animal body plans. We are studying miRNA expression and function in a number of invertebrates, focused mainly on flies, other insects and crustaceans to assess if and how their functions have changed over different evolutionary distances.

There are also a number of other projects in the lab looking at more traditional genes for EvoDevo studies, particularly the Hox genes of nematodes and other more obscure phyla.

Find out more at the lab group website.

Education, appointments and honours

BA Natural Sciences (Genetics), University of Cambridge 1994-1997, Wellcome Trust 4 year PhD 1998-2002, Wellcome Trust Prize fellowship 2002-2003 University of Edinburgh. Howard Hughes Medical Institute postdoctoral associate 2003 UC Berkeley, Wellcome Trust IRF 2004-current UC Berkeley, California and University of Nottingham, RCUK Fellow 2005-current, University of Nottingham.

Selected Publications

GONZALEZ-ESTEVEZ, C., ARSENI, V., THAMBYRAJAH, R.S., FELIX, D.A. AND ABOOBAKER, A.A., 2009. Diverse miRNA spatial expression patterns suggest important roles in homeostasis and regeneration in planarians. The International journal of developmental biology, 53(4), 493-505. PLEASS, RICHARD J, ABOOBAKER, A AZIZ and SCHMITT, ARMIN O, 2008. Piggybacking schistosome invasion: similarities are only skin deep. Trends in Parasitology, 24(4), 153-6. GONZALEZ-ESTEVEZ, C., FELIX, D.A., ABOOBAKER, A.A. AND SALO, E., 2007. Gtdap-1 and the role of autophagy during planarian regeneration and starvation. Autophagy, 3(6), 640-2. GONZáLEZ-ESTéVEZ, C., FELIX, D.A., ABOOBAKER, A.A. and SALó, E., 2007. Gtdap-1 promotes autophagy and is required for planarian remodeling during regeneration and starvation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(33), 13373-13378. PROCHNIK, S.E., ROKHSAR, D.S. and ABOOBAKER, A.A., 2006. Evidence for a microRNA expansion in the bilaterian ancestor. Development, Genes and Evolution, 217(1), 73-77. ABOOBAKER, A.A., TOMANCAK, P., PATEL, N., RUBIN, G.M. and LAI, E.C., 2005. Drosophila microRNAs exhibit diverse spatial expression patterns during embryonic development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(50), 18017-18022. ABOOBAKER, A.A. and BLAXTER, M.L., 2004. Functional genomics for parasitic nematodes and platyhelminths. Trends in Parasitology, 20(4), 178-184. ABOOBAKER, A.A. and BLAXTER, M.L., 2003. Hox gene loss during dynamic evolution of the nematode cluster. Current Biology, 13(1), 37-40. ABOOBAKER, A. and BLAXTER, M., 2003. Hox gene evolution in nematodes: novelty conserved. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 13(6), 593-598. ABOOBAKER, A.A. and BLAXTER, M.L., 2003. Use of RNA interference to investigate gene function in the human filarial nematode parasite Brugia malayi. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 129(1), 41-51.

Group Members

Dr Sunir Malla	Research Fellow	+44 (0)115 82 30379 internal (QMC) 30363	D106
Jamie Jowett	Technician	+44(0)115 823 0379 internal (QMC) 30379	D113
Dr Martin Blythe	Research Associate	internal (QMC) 30363	D108 via D106
Dr Jordi Solana Garcia	Research Associate	internal (QMC)	D113
Dr Raymond Wilson	Senior Experimental Officer	+44(0)115 823 0363 internal (QMC) 30363	D106
Joanna Rowsell	Research Bioinformatician	+44(0)115 823 0363 internal (QMC) 30363	D108 via D106
Deborah Evans	Postgraduate Student	+44 (0)115 823 0379 internal (QMC) 30379	D100
Priscilla Lo	Postgraduate Student (Writing-up)	+44 (0)115 823 0379 internal (QMC) 30379	D100
Varvara Arseni	Postgraduate Student (Writing-up)	+44 (0)115 823 0379 internal (QMC) 30379	D100
Chen Chen	Postgraduate Student	+44 (0)115 823 0379 internal (QMC) 30379	D100
Thomas Tan	Postgraduate Student	+44 (0)115 823 0379 internal (QMC) 30377	D113
Daniel Felix	Postgraduate Student	+44 (0)115 82 30379 internal (QMC) 30379	D100
Farah Jaber	Postgraduate Student	+44 (0)115 82 30395 internal (QMC) 30395	D100
Cristina Below	MRes Student	+44 (0)115 9515151 internal (UP) 18519/12154	B6-B10
Matthew Smith	MRes Student		D05A
Belen Tejada Romero	MRes Student	+44 (0)115 82 30395 internal (QMC) 30395	D100
Duniazad Tuqan	MRes Student	+44 (0)115 82 30395 internal (QMC) 30395	D100
Damian Kao	Postgraduate Student	+44 (0)115 82 30395 internal (QMC) 30395	D100