Cynthia Cooper, Ph.D.
Courses
| Course ID | Title | Meeting Time | Location | Semester | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBioS 301 | General Genetics | ||||
| MBioS 405/505 | Cell Biology of Disease |
Research
Our lab examines the biology of black pigment cells or melanocytes. Melanocytes are responsible for our exterior appearance, providing color to hair, eyes and skin. Most critically melanocytes protect our skin from ultraviolet rays by promoting the tanning response. Many organisms throughout the animal kingdom have melanocytes (called melanophores in fish and frogs). In other organisms, these cells serve a variety of functions, including mate choice in ducks, warning signals in frogs and social behavior in fish. We examine melanophore development in the model organism zebrafish to better understand the function of genes important for normal melanocyte behavior and function. With our studies, we hope to learn more about human diseases of melanocytes such as melanoma and vitiligo.
If you are interested in working in the lab as an undergraduate student, graduate student or postdoctoral fellow, please contact Cynthia Cooper at cdcooper@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Biology of pigmentation
- Zebrafish genetics and development
Recent Publications
Cooper C.D., Linbo T.H. and D.W. Raible (2009) "Kit and foxd3 genetically interact to regulate melanophore survival in zebrafish" Dev Dyn 238(4):875-886.
Cooper C.D. and D.W. Raible (2008) "Mechanisms for reaching the differentiated state: Insights from neural crest derived melanocytes." Sem Cell Dev Biol 20(1):105-110.
Lampe P.D., Cooper C.D., King T. J. and Burt J.M. (2006) "Analysis of Connexin43 phosphorylated at S325, S328 and S330 in normoxic and ischemic heart." J Cell Sci 119:3435-42.
Lister J.A., Cooper C, Nguyen K, Modrell M, Grant K, Raible D.W. (2006) "Zebrafish Foxd3 is required for development of a subset of neural crest derivatives." Dev Biol 290:92-104.
Cooper, C.D. and P.D. Lampe (2002) "Casein Kinase 1 Regulates Connexin43 Gap Junction Assembly." Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277(47):44962-44968
Cooper, C.D., Solan, J.L., Dolejsi, M.K., Lampe, P.D. (2000) "Analysis of Connexin Phosphorylation Sites." Methods 20(2):196-204.
Education
- PhD, Pathobiology
- University of Washington