Rory Donnellan

Profile

In my PhD project with Dr Chema Martin, I am studying the annelid Owenia fusiformis to uncover how it can regenerate its head. I am characterising the morphology of the head across regeneration, from intact animals to those 7 days post amputation, and analysing changes in gene expression across the process to identify the genes underpinning the process, while also making use of drugs to disrupt gene pathways to identify how these genes may be influencing the regenerating tissues.

This work will have implications for our understanding of regeneration both in annelids and across other phyla more broadly, revealing the differences and similarities between both closely related and distantly related species in the tree of life, and how evolution has impacted a trait as complex as regeneration over time.

Supervisor

• Dr Chema Martin

Research