Limb Regeneration in Amphibians and Freshwater Worms

The Mexican axolotl is a vertebrate tetrapod, meaning that it has a backbone and four limbs, much like we do. It is special in that it has a remarkable ability to regenerate its arms, tail, spinal cord, and parts of its forebrain. It can also regenerate its liver and parts of its heart. It does things that we can’t do as humans. Therefore, by looking at how the Mexican axolotl   regenerates at the cellular and molecular level, we can become better informed on how to enhance regeneration and healing in ourselves. Karen Crawford, professor of biology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, has been studying this phenomena of regeneration.

In this talk, she will introduce limb regeneration in salamanders and share some of the experiments that have been performed in her laboratory using the Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, to decipher how cells recognize each other and create new patterns. She will also talk about how a small freshwater worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, has contributed to understanding regeneration. Studying regeneration in this worm has allowed her students to explore the impact of environmental toxins on regeneration and reproduction. Understanding the cellular and molecular signatures of regeneration in animals may one day bring us closer to enhancing healing and recovery from injury in ourselves.

Karen Crawford is a Professor of Biology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. As a developmental biologist, her laboratory studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pattern formation during development and regeneration in animals.

Dr. Crawford has developed in vitro fertilization, culture and most recently, reliable microinjection methods for cephalopods expanding through important collaborations to include CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in squid.  Her studies in regeneration have also taken her to Dresden, Germany, and the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, MDI, ME, where she created and codirected their inaugural Regenerative Biology course. Over the years, Crawford has served on both NIH and NSF grant review panels, and as a reviewer for a wide range of journals. She currently serves on the editorial board for Developmental Biology, and has also held a variety of leadership positions for the Society for Developmental Biology, Society for Comparative and Integrative Biology, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, where she currently chairs the Whitman Scientist Steering Committee.