Faculty Profile

Carol A. Erickson
Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Molecular and Cellular Biology (College of Biological Sciences)
3133 Life Sciences Addition
Office 752-8318
Lab
caerickson@ucdavis.edu
 

Degrees:
1976 - PhD - Yale University - Cell Biology
1971 - BA - Wilson College, Pennsylvania - Biology

Awards:
Phi Beta Kappa, 1971
Research Career Development Award (NIH), 1983-1988
Elected Fellow, AAAS, 2001

Department and Center Affiliations:
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Center for Genetics and Development

Professional Societies:
Society for Developmental Biology
Society for Cell Biology
American Society for the Advancement of Science

Grad Group Affiliations and Specialties:
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cell and Developmental Biology

Publications:
Jin EJ, CA Erickson, S Takada, and LW Burrus. 2001. Wnt and BMP signaling govern lineage segregation of melanocytes in the avian embryo. Developmental Biology 233:22-37

Kos, R, MV Reedy, RL Johnson and CA Erickson. 2001. The winged-helix transcription factor FoxD3 is important for establishing the neural crest lineage and repressing melanogenesis in avian embryos. Development 128:1467-1479

Santiago A and CA Erickson. 2002. Ephrin-B ligands play a dual role in the control of neural crest cell migration. Development 129:3621-3632

Hall R, and CA Erickson. 2003. ADAM 10: An Active Metalloprotease Expressed During Avian Epithelial Morphogenesis. Developmental Biology 256: 146-159

Kos, R, RP Tucker, R Hall, T Duong, and CA Erickson. 2003. Methods for Introducing Morpholinos into the Chicken Embryo. Developmental Dynamics 226: 470-477

Duong, T. D. and C. A. Erickson. 2004. MMP-2 plays an essential role in producing epithelial-mesenchymal transformations in the avian embryo. Developmental Dynamics 229:42-53.

Research Interests:
Our research focuses on the development of the avian trunk neural crest. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms that segregate the neural crest lineage from the neural epithelium, the mechanisms that guide specific neural crest lineages along different migratory pathways, and the control of neural crest cell differentiation. The laboratory uses a number of experimental approaches to address cellular and molecular aspects of neural crest development including: surgical manipulation, cell culture, in vitro embryo culture, in ovo electroporation of expression plasmids, and gene knockdown using antisense oligonucleotides and morpholinos.

Laboratory Personnel:
Erickson - Ronelle Hall, Aaron Thomas, Tuan Duong, Jon Alhstrom, Melissa Harris, Bryan Kuo

Teaching Interests:


Cell Biology, Developmental Biology

Courses Taught:
MCB 258 Seminar in Development - Term(s): Winter
MCB 259 Literature in Developmental Biology - Term(s): Fall,Winter,Spring
MCB 145 Cell Signaling - Term(s): Spring