I am the Programme Director of the Biomedical Science BSc, one of the largest degree programmes in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine. I also run a second year module 'Essentials of Embryology' which is core for the Neuroscience BSc and deliver lectures and tutorials on a variety of other courses. My research interests are to investigate the molecular mechanisms of ectodermal specification in Xenopus laevis. The development of the nervous system is a complex process, before neural tissue is induced in the embryo, signals are required to inhibit the ectoderm from becoming epidermis so that it will become neural. My lab is interested in how this process occurs, and if there are differences between cell-autonomous and non cell-autonomous neural inducers with respect to their downstream targets.

Please see my Research Staff Profile for more detail

Key publications:

• Pegge et al., (2020). Heparan sulfate proteoglycans regulate BMP signalling during neural crest induction. Developmental Biology.
• Kiecker et al., (2019). Teaching embryology through science fiction and role play. Medical Education.
• Kiecker et al., (2016). Molecular specification of germ layers in vertebrate embryos. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.
• Bates et al. (2013) Coco regulates dorsoventral specification of germ layers via inhibition of TGFβ signalling. Development.
• Kriebitz et al., (2009). PRDC regulates placode neurogenesis in chick by modulating BMP signalling. Developmental Biology.

Key collaborators:

• Prof Anthony Graham, King's College London