RESEARCH SUMMARY
I’ve been a technician at the Stowers Institute since 2005. My first years were spent supporting many of the research labs from within the Tissue Culture Core. There, I worked with mouse ES cells, generated mutant and knock-in lines, and performed cryopreservation and IVF. When my interests shifted more toward research, I joined the Gibson lab in 2012 where I now work with the sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. My primary goals are to establish new genetic tools and support the expansion of this research model within our lab. I rely primarily on CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination for targeting and am interested in adapting recombination methods well established in model organisms to Nematostella.

EDUCATION
BA Biology, William Jewell College (2005)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Manipulation of gene activity in the regenerative model sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis.
‍Hill, E.M., Chen, C.-Y., Del Viso, F., Ellington, L.R., He, S., Karabulut, A., Paulson, A., Gibson, M.C.
Whole-Body Regeneration: Methods and Protocols. (2021)
PubMed

Hedgehog signaling is required for endomesodermal patterning and germ cell development in Nematostella vectensis.
‍Chen, C.-Y., McKinney, S.A., Ellington, L., Gibson, M.C.
‍eLife (2020) 9: e54573.
PubMed

Feeding-dependent tentacle development in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.
‍Ikmi, A., Steenbergen, P.J., Anzo, M., McMullen, M.R.,Stokkermans, A., Ellington, L.R., Gibson, M.C.
‍Nature Communications (2020) 11: 4399.
PubMed
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Cell-Cycle-Coupled Oscillations in Apical Polarity and Intercellular Contact Maintain Order in Embryonic Epithelia.
Ragkousi, K., Marr, K., McKinney, S., Ellington, L., Gibson, M.C.
‍Current Biology.2017;27(9): 1381-86.
PubMed

Prevention of the neurocristopathy Treacher Collins syndrome through inhibition of p53 function.
Jones, N.C., Lynn, M.L., Gaudenz, K.,Sakai, D., Aoto, K., Rey, J.P., Glynn, E.F., Ellington, L., Du, C., Dixon, J.,Dixon, M.J., and Trainor, P.A. Nature Medicine. 2008. 14(2): 125-33.
PubMed