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Dr Helen Dodson

B.Sc., Ph.D

Contact Details

Lecturer
Medicine

T: +353 91492162
E: helen.dodson@nuigalway.ie
 
researcher

Biography

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.




Research Interests

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.

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2011) 'Roles of vertebrate Smc5 in sister chromatid cohesion and homologous recombinational repair'
Stephan, A.K., Kliszczak, M., Dodson, H., Cooley, C. and Morrison, C.G. (2011) 'Roles of vertebrate Smc5 in sister chromatid cohesion and homologous recombinational repair'. Molecular And Cellular Biology, 31 :1369-1381 [Details]
(2010) 'A centrosome-autonomous signal that involves centriole disengagement permits centrosome duplication in G2 phase after DNA damage'
Inanç B, Dodson H, Morrison CG. (2010) 'A centrosome-autonomous signal that involves centriole disengagement permits centrosome duplication in G2 phase after DNA damage'. Mol Biol Cell, 21 (22):3866-3877 [Details]
(2009) 'Increased sister chromatid cohesion and DNA damage response factor localisation at an enzyme-induced DNA double-strand break in vertebrate cells'
Dodson, H. and Morrison, C.G. (2009) 'Increased sister chromatid cohesion and DNA damage response factor localisation at an enzyme-induced DNA double-strand break in vertebrate cells'. Nucleic Acids Res, 37 :6054-6063 [Details]
(2007) 'DNA damage induces Chk1-dependent centrosome amplification'
Bourke E, Dodson H, Merdes A, Cuffe L, Zachos G, Walker M, Gillespie D, Morrison CG. (2007) 'DNA damage induces Chk1-dependent centrosome amplification'. Embo Reports, 8 (6):603-609 [Details]
(2007) 'Involvement of centrosome amplification in radiation-induced mitotic catastrophe'
Dodson, H,Wheatley, SP,Morrison, CG (2007) 'Involvement of centrosome amplification in radiation-induced mitotic catastrophe'. Cell Cycle, 6 :364-370 [Details]
(2006) 'Synthesis of novel caspase inhibitors for characterization of the active caspase proteome in vitro and in vivo'
Henzing AJ, Dodson H, Reid JM, Kaufmann SH, Baxter RL, Earnshaw WC (2006) 'Synthesis of novel caspase inhibitors for characterization of the active caspase proteome in vitro and in vivo'. Journal Of Medicinal Chemistry, 49 (26):7636-7645 [Details]
(2004) 'Analysis of Scc1-deficient cells defines a key metaphase role of vertebrate cohesin in linking sister kinetochores'
Vagnarelli, P,Morrison, C,Dodson, H,Sonoda, E,Takeda, S,Earnshaw, WC (2004) 'Analysis of Scc1-deficient cells defines a key metaphase role of vertebrate cohesin in linking sister kinetochores'. Embo Reports, 5 :167-171 [DOI] [Details]
(2004) 'Aurora-B phosphorylation in vitro identifies a residue of survivin that is essential for its localization and binding to inner centromere protein (INCENP) in vivo'
Wheatley SP, Henzing AJ, Dodson H, Khaled W, Earnshaw WC (2004) 'Aurora-B phosphorylation in vitro identifies a residue of survivin that is essential for its localization and binding to inner centromere protein (INCENP) in vivo'. Journal Of Biological Chemistry, 279 (7):5655-5660 [DOI] [Details]
(2004) 'Centrosome amplification induced by DNA damage occurs during a prolonged G2 phase and involves ATM'
Dodson H, Bourke E, Jeffers LJ, Vagnarelli P, Sonoda E, Takeda S, Earnshaw WC, Merdes A, Morrison C. (2004) 'Centrosome amplification induced by DNA damage occurs during a prolonged G2 phase and involves ATM'. Embo Journal, 23 (19):3864-3873 [Details]
(2002) 'Proteomic analysis of human metaphase chromosomes reveals topoisomerase II alpha as an Aurora B substrate'
Morrison C, Henzing AJ, Jensen ON, Osheroff N, Dodson H, Kandels-Lewis SE, Adams RR, Earnshaw WC (2002) 'Proteomic analysis of human metaphase chromosomes reveals topoisomerase II alpha as an Aurora B substrate'. Nucl. Acids Res, 30 (23):5318-5327 [Details]
(2002) 'CENP-I is essential for centromere function in vertebrate cells'
Nishihashi A, Haraguchi T, Hiraoka Y, Ikemura T, Regnier V, Dodson H, Earnshaw WC, Fukagawa T (2002) 'CENP-I is essential for centromere function in vertebrate cells'. Cell, 2 (4):463-476 [Details]

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
European Association for Cancer Research Member /
Anatomical Society Member /
British Society for Cell Biology member /
Irish Association for Cancer Research member 01-MAR-04 / 31-DEC-12

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Biomedical Science Teaching Committee /

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
National University of Ireland Galway Postdoctoral Fellow 01-APR-10 / 30-NOV-11
National University of Ireland Galway Postdoctoral Fellow 01-OCT-03 / 31-MAR-10
University of Edinburgh Postdoctoral Fellow 01-APR-03 / 30-SEP-03

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2003 University of Edinburgh PhD Cell and Molecular Biology
1998 University of Edinburgh BSc Molecular Biology

Teaching Interests

Cell Biology
Histology
Scientific Writing Skills
Laboratory skills - cell and molecular biology