 Research:
My research is focused on understanding the mechanisms that regulate growth factor induced changes in the adhesive and migratory behaviors of cells in early vertebrate development. Embryos of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, are used together with biochemical, molecular and immunological techniques to investigate the involvement of Rho family GTPases in mesodermal and cranial neural crest cell migration. |
Recent Publications:
Lucas, J.M, Nikolic, I., and Hens, M.D. 2002. cDNA cloning, sequence comparison, and developmental expression of Xenopus rac1. Mechanisms of Development 115 (113-116).
Hens, M.D., Nikolic, I., and Woolcock, C.M. 2002. Regulation of Xenopus embryonic cell adhesion by the small GTPase, rac. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 298(3):364-370.
Hens, M.D., Fowler, K.A., and Leise, E.M. 2006. Induction of metamorphosis decreases nitric oxide synthase gene expression in larvae of the marine mollusc Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say). Biological Bulletin 211:208-211. |
