Helen Dodson

I joined the Discipline of Anatomy as a lecturer in December 2011. I obtained my PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh in 2003. My doctoral research, which was carried out in the Laboratory of Professor Bill Earnshaw focused on cell division and in particular the spindle assembly checkpoint which ensures accurate segregation of chromosomes at mitosis. Following a short period as a postdoc in Edinburgh I moved to Galway to work with Professor Ciaran Morrison where my research focused on cellular responses to DNA damage and in particular the phenomena of DNA damage induced centrosome amplification and mitotic catastrophe. Most recently I have been working with Dr Andrew Flaus investigating the expression, distribution and abundance of the histone variant H2AX in human cells. In addition to this I am interested in the development of tools for live cell imaging of cells following DNA damage. My ongoing research is being carried out in collaboration with colleagues in the Centre for Chromosome Biology and the Centre for Microscopy and Imaging at NUIG. 

I am interested in how cells respond to DNA damage. Most recently my work has focused on the histone variant H2AX which is phosphorylated in response to DNA damage. Understanding the distribution and abundance of H2AX in various cell types will be important in fully understanding the signaling mechanisms involved in the DNA damage response. In particular I am interested in the expression and abundance of H2AX in cancer cells and am developing assays to address these questions in cultured cells and cancer biobank samples.I am also interested in developing technologies for studying the DNA damage response in real time using live cell imaging.

Cell BiologyHistology Scientific Writing SkillsLaboratory skills - cell and molecular biology