School of Life Sciences

University of Dundee

Professor Kate Storey FRS FRSE FMedSci FRSB

Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating neural differentiation
Position: 
Professor of Neural Development and Head of the Division of Cell and Developmental Biology
Affiliation: 
Cell and Developmental Biology
Address: 
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee
Full Telephone: 
+44 (0) 1382 385691, int ext 85691
Email: 
Website: 
Storey Lab Site

Research

Cell division in the neural tube

Researchers in Kate Storey’s laboratory investigate how the nervous system forms during embryonic development. 

 

We all come from a single cell, the fertilised egg. As this cell divides to generate the embryo individual cells begin to specialise in a process known as cellular differentiation. We wish to understand how neural cells arise in the embryo and how their differentiation is controlled.  

 

The spinal cord is generated progressively as the embryonic body is laid down and this helps us to identify and investigate the distinct steps that underlie its formation. These include when and how neural precursor cells stop dividing and become nerve cells, and how these cells then change shape and ultimately make connections to form functional neural circuitry.  

 

Our team uses a wide range of techniques, including gain and loss of gene function approaches and genome-wide analyses, as well as live imaging assays, which allow us to monitor changes in cell behaviour during differentiation.  

 

Our overall aim is to discover cellular and molecular mechanisms that control neural differentiation. Elucidating these mechanisms helps us to understand better how the developing nervous system is impacted by cellular stress and may inform strategies for therapeutic treatment of neural injury and disease. 

 

Teaching

Contributes lectures to:
 
Stem Cells in Development and Disease – year 4
Cell Biology of Disease – MSc Res
 
Graduate student super-seminars – x2
 
and supervision for:
 
Honours student projects – 10-week projects x2
Rotation projects – 3-month rotations
Graduate student supervision

Publications

A complete publication list can be found using my ORCID 0000-0003-3506-1287 

 

Rodrigo Albors, A., Singer G.A., May , A.P., Ponting, C.P. and Storey, K.G. (2022) Ependymal cell maturation is heterogeneous and

ongoing in the mouse spinal cord and dynamically regulated in response to injury Preprint BioRxiv doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.07.483249 

 

Kasioulis I., Dady, A., James, J., Prescott, A., Halley, P.A., and Storey K.G., A lateral protrusion latticework connects neuroepithelial cells and is regulated during neurogenesis. J Cell Sci. 2022 Feb 25: jcs.259897. doi: 10.1242/jcs.259897. PMID: 35217862 Read Article 

 

Dady, A., Davidson, L., Halley, P.A, Storey, K.G. Human spinal cord differentiation proceeds rapidly in vitro and only initially maintains differentiation pace in a heterologous environment. eLife. 2022 Feb 21;11:e67283. doi: 10.7554/eLife.67283. PMID: 35188104 Read Article 

 

Poncet N., Halley P.A., Lipina C., Gierliński M., Dady A., Singer G.A., Febrer M., Shi Y.B., Yamaguchi T.P., Taylor P.M., Storey, K.G (2020) Wnt regulates amino acid transporter Slc7a5 and so constrains the integrated stress response in mouse embryos. EMBO Reports 21(1) doi/10.15252/embr.201948469 PMCID 6944906 PMID 31789450 Read Article 

 

Tait, C., Chinnaiya, K., Manning, E., Murtaza, M., Ashton, J.P., Furley, N., Hill, C.J., Alves, H.C., Wijnholds, J., Erdmann, K.S., Furley, A., Rashbass, P., Das, R.M., Storey, K.G., Placzek, M (2020) Crumbs2 mediates ventricular layer remodelling to form the spinal cord central canal. PLoS Biol, 18 (3), e3000470. doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000470 PMID 32150534 Read Article 

 

Cañizares M.A, Albors A.R., Singer G., Suttie N., Gorkic M., Felts P., Storey K.G (2020) Multiple steps characterise ventricular layer attrition to form the ependymal cell lining of the adult mouse spinal cord central canal. Journal of Anatomy 236 (2), 334-350. doi/10.1111/joa.13094 PMID 31670387 Read Article 

 

Rodrigo Albors, A., Halley, P., Storey, K.G (2018) Lineage tracing of axial progenitors using Nkx1-2CreERT2 mice defines their trunk and tail contributions. Development 2018 145: dev164319. doi/10.1242/dev.164319 PMCID 6198475 PMID 30201686 Read Article 

 

Mastromina I, Verrier L, Clara Silva J, Storey K.G, Dale J.K (2018) MYC activity is required for maintenance of the Neuromesodermal Progenitor signalling network and for correct timing of segmentation clock gene oscillations in mouse. Development. 145:1-14. doi/10.1242/dev.161091 PMCID 6078331 PMID 30061166 Read Article 

 

Verrier, L., Davidson, L., Gierlinski, M., Dady, A., Storey, K.G (2018) Neural differentiation, selection and transcriptomic profiling of human neuromesodermal progenitors-like cells in vitro. Development. 145(11). doi/10.1242/dev.166215 PMCID 6124542 PMID 29899136 Read Article 

 

Kasioulis, I., Storey, K.G (2018) Cell biological mechanisms regulating chick neurogenesis.  International Journal of Developmental Biology. 62(1/2/3): 167-175. doi/10.1387/ijdb.170268ks PMID 29616725 Read Article 

 

Kasioulis, I., Das, R. M., Storey, K.G (2017) Inter-dependent apical microtubule and actin dynamics orchestrate centrosome retention and neuronal delamination. eLife. doi/10.7554/eLife.26215  PMCID 5653239  PMID 29058679 Read Article 

 

Henrique, D., Abranches, E., Verrier, L. and Storey, K.G (2015) Neuromesodermal progenitors and the making of the spinal cord. Development. 142, 2864-2875.  doi/10.1242/dev.119768 PMCID 4958456 PMID 26329597 Read Article 

 

Olivera-Martinez, I., Schurch, N., Li, R., Song, J., Halley, P.A., Das, R.M., Burt, D.W., Barton, G.J., Storey, K.G (2014) Major transcriptome re-organisation and abrupt changes in signalling, cell cycle and chromatin regulation at neural differentiation in vivo. Development 2014 141: 3266-3276 doi/10.1242/dev.112623 PMCID 4197544 PMID 25063452 Read Article 

 

Das, R. M., Storey, K.G (2014) Apical abscission alters cell polarity and dismantles the primary cilium during neurogenesis. Science. 343, 200-204.  doi/10.1126/science.1247521 PMCID 4066580 PMID 24408437 Read Article 

 

Schurch, N.J., Cole, C., Sherstnev, A., Song, J., Duc, C., Storey, K.G., McLean, W.H., Brown, S.J., Simpson, G.G., Barton, G.J (2014) Improved annotation of 3′ untranslated regions and complex loci by combination of strand -specific direct RNA sequencing, RNA-Seq and EST’s. PloS One. 9, e94270.  doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0094270 PMCID 3983147 PMID 24722185 Read Article 

 

Patel, N.S., Rhinn, M., Semprich, C.I., Halley, P.A., Dolle, P., Bickmore, W.A. and Storey, K. (2013) FGF signalling regulates chromatin organisation during neural differentiation via mechanisms that can be uncoupled from transcription. PLoS Genetics. 9, e1003614. doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003614 PMCID 3715432 PMID 23874217 Read Article 

 

Das, R.M., Storey, K.G. (2012) Mitotic spindle orientation can direct cell fate and bias Notch activity in chick neural tube. EMBO reports. 13, 448-454.  doi/10.1038/embor.2012.42 PMCID 3343353 PMID 22491029 Read Article 

 

Olivera-Martinez, I., Harada, H., Halley, P.A., Storey, K.G (2012) Loss of FGF-dependent mesoderm identity and rise of endogenous retinoid signalling determine cessation of body axis elongation. PLoS Biology. 10, e1001415.  doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001415 PMCID 3484059 PMID 23118616 Read Article