Developmental Genetics Section - Division of Intramural Research

 Lynn D.  Hudson  Ph.D., Senior Investigator

Dr. Hudson received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her Ph.D. from the Department of Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She carried out postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School on chromosome-mediated gene transfer and at Brown University on transcriptional controls. In 1982, Dr. Hudson came to the NIH to examine the genetics of glial cell development. Her section is studying genes that contribute to the specification and differentiation of oligodendrocytes, with the goal of designing strategies to overcome glial dysfunction in inherited or acquired neurological disease.

Laboratory Staff

Jo Ann Berndt, B.S., Research Assistant , 301-594- 2867
Pierre  Lau, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow , 301-594- 2866
Joseph Nielsen, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow , 301-402- 7350
Elena Romm, M.Sc, Research Assistant , 301-451- 9930

Research Interests

The Developmental Genetics Section aims to identify the genetic regulatory controls that operate in neural cells. Ongoing research on transcription factors and their downstream targets focuses on how myelin-forming cells selectively activate an array of genes and integrate their action. Experimental approaches include: 1) expression profiling of oligodendrocytes at discrete developmental stages, and 2) generating transgenic mouse models to assess the function of individual genes and to evaluate therapeutic strategies for treating inherited and acquired myelin deficiencies. Defining the network of genes expressed by glial cells in response to signalling cues from neurons should reveal novel approaches for stimulating remyelination in disorders such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury.

Selected Recent Publications

Nielsen, J.A., Maric, D., Lau, P., Barker, J.L. and Hudson, L.D.
Identification of a novel oligodendrocyte cell adhesion protein using gene expression profiling. - J. Neuroscience  26(39) 9881-9891 2006

Romm, E., Nielsen J.A., Kim, J.G. and Hudson, L.D.
Myt1 family recruits histone deacetylase to regulate neural transcription. - J Neurochem  93(6) 1444-53 2005

Nielsen, J.A., Berndt, J.A., Hudson, L.D. and Armstrong, R.C.
Myelin transcription factor 1 (Myt1) modulates the proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte lineage cells.  - Mol. Cell Neurosci  25 111-123 2004

Contact Information

Developmental Genetics Section Building 49, Room 5A82  49 Convent Drive, MSC 4479   Bethesda MD  20892-4479

Telephone: 301-496- 0786 (office),  - -  (laboratory), 301-496- 1339 (fax), Email: HudsonL1@od.nih.gov