Fiona Watt | |
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Born | 28 March 1956 |
Alma mater | |
Employer |
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Spouse(s) | Jim Cuthbert Smith |
Awards | |
Website | http://www.wattlab.org |
Fiona Watt, FRS FMedSci (born 28 March 1956) is a British scientist who is internationally known for her contributions to the field of stem cell biology. [1] In the 1980s, when the field was in its infancy, she highlighted key characteristics of stem cells and their environment that laid the foundation for much present day research. [2]
Watt is the Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). [3] She previously served as director of the Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King's College London, and executive chair of the Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) (MRC), becoming the first woman to lead the MRC since its foundation in 1913. [4]
Watt was born on 28 March 1956 [5] in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her father was a dental surgeon who combined his clinical work with an active research programme. Her family were members of the Church of Scotland. Her younger sister, Wendy, died in 1982. Watt knew she wanted to be a scientist from a very young age. [6]
Watt obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences in 1976, and her master's degree in 1979, both at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. She also obtained her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford in 1979, supervised by Henry Harris with a thesis on Microtubule-organizing centres in cells in culture and in hybrids derived from them'. [7] [6]
After her PhD, Watt completed a two-year postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, with Dr. Howard Green. Upon returning to the UK, she founded her first lab at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London where she became Head of the Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory. In 1987 she relocated to the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (now part of the Francis Crick Institute) where she served as Head of the Keratinocyte Laboratory. From 2007 to 2012 she worked in Cambridge, where she helped to establish the Cambridge Cancer Research UK Institute and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research. She was a Fellow of St John’s College and the first Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics at Cambridge University.
Watt’s major research contribution has been to elucidate how the outer covering of mammalian skin, the epidermis, is maintained through self-renewal of stem cells and terminal differentiation of their progeny. Using cultured human epidermis and genetically modified mice, she pioneered the identification of stem cell populations and elucidated the roles of integrin, [8] Notch, [9] Wnt [10] and receptor tyrosine kinase [11] signalling in regulating their behavior. She identified the first marker, integrin extracellular matrix (ECM) receptors, that could be used to isolate epidermal stem cells [12] – researchers have subsequently found that this marker enriches for stem cells in a wide range of tissues. In addition, others have amply confirmed her original concept that the ECM is a key component of the stem cell niche.
Her lab's research has also shown that the interplay between diverse intrinsic and extrinsic signals is central to determining cell fate, [13] identified different sensing mechanisms and downstream signalling pathways, [14] and elucidated the nature of the switch between stem cells and differentiated cells. [15]
A pioneer of single cell gene expression profiling, [16] she demonstrated that different human epidermal stem cell states are not stochastic but reflect the existence of stem cell subpopulations that had not been identified previously. By demonstrating the existence of functionally distinct skin fibroblast lineages [17] she has opened the way for new strategies to treat scarring and fibrosis.
Watt’s work has resulted in new insights into how epidermal deregulation leads to tumor formation, including the roles played by differentiated cells, [18] bacteria and immune cells. [19] She uncovered new mechanisms by which integrins contribute to cancer, including the first tumour-associated integrin mutation. [20] She also identified the first Wnt-inhibitory mutation that stimulates tumour formation. [21] The generality of her observations has been confirmed in other solid tumours. In recent years she has become increasingly interested in the relationship between genetic variants and cellular behaviour. [22]
Watt has played a key role in promoting UK government investment in stem cell research, for example, as specialist adviser to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. She is also the former president of the British Society for Cell Biology and the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). She served as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Cell Science for 20 years and then as a founding Deputy Editor of eLife. Watt is a vocal advocate for women in science. In a series of articles [23] [24] and interviews with women scientists (2004-2005), she examined the struggles women face in 'getting to the top'.
At the Medical Research Council she launched a programme to enable full-time clinicians to participate in research; worked with and engaged Black and Minority Ethnic PhD students to identify new ways to support their academic careers; and developed new initiatives in multi-morbidity, adolescent mental health and pain. In 2020, Watt spearheaded efforts to fund coronavirus research, helping to ensure that the first awards from UKRI/DHSC were made just as the scale of the pandemic was becoming apparent. During Watt’s tenure as MRC Executive Chair, she oversaw the decision to close the Mammalian Genetics Unit. This strategic decision was decried by over 150 researchers and leading geneticists internationally, including Elizabeth Fisher and Robin Lovell-Badge. [25] Following a Strategic Review in 2019, the MRC Council concluded that in light of scientific advances to create more complex clinically-related mouse models, it was timely to focus on new investments on targeted programmes that are integrated with human disease modelling. Professor Owen Sansom was appointed Director of the new National Mouse Genetics Network. [26] [27] The Medical Research Council invested more than £20 million [28] in the network bringing together a package of challenge-focused research clusters distributed across the UK and a long term partnership with the Mary Lyon Centre at Harwell. [29] [30] In December 2020 a whistleblowing investigation was triggered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), determining that Watt had acted in a bullying manner. [31] She offered written apologies to multiple individuals. [31] [32] Watt remained in post until her term as MRC Executive Chair ended in early 2022, then took up her new position as director of the European Molecular Biology Organization. [31]
Watt is a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (1999), [33] Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2000), [34] and a Fellow of the Royal Society (2003). [34] She was elected an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008. [35] Watt is also a Doctor Honoris Causa of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (2016). [34] She was elected an Honorary Member of Society for Investigative Dermatology (2018) [36] and Honorary Fellow, British Pharmacological Society (2019). [37] Watt is a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (2019), [33] Member of Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (2023), [38] and is a member of several advisory boards, including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), [33] Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) [39] and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Advisory Board. [40]
She won the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Women in Cell Biology Senior Award in 2008, [35] the inaugural Suffrage Science award in 2011, [41] the Hunterian Society Medal in 2015, [34] the FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award in 2016, [42] and the ISSCR Achievement Award (2024). [43]
Keratinocytes are the primary type of cell found in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. Basal cells in the basal layer of the skin are sometimes referred to as basal keratinocytes. Keratinocytes form a barrier against environmental damage by heat, UV radiation, water loss, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. A number of structural proteins, enzymes, lipids, and antimicrobial peptides contribute to maintain the important barrier function of the skin. Keratinocytes differentiate from epidermal stem cells in the lower part of the epidermis and migrate towards the surface, finally becoming corneocytes and eventually being shed, which happens every 40 to 56 days in humans.
Oct-4, also known as POU5F1, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the POU5F1 gene. Oct-4 is a homeodomain transcription factor of the POU family. It is critically involved in the self-renewal of undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. As such, it is frequently used as a marker for undifferentiated cells. Oct-4 expression must be closely regulated; too much or too little will cause differentiation of the cells.
The epidermal growth factor receptor is a transmembrane protein that is a receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family of extracellular protein ligands.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) are self-renewing, multipotent cells that firstly generate the radial glial progenitor cells that generate the neurons and glia of the nervous system of all animals during embryonic development. Some neural progenitor stem cells persist in highly restricted regions in the adult vertebrate brain and continue to produce neurons throughout life. Differences in the size of the central nervous system are among the most important distinctions between the species and thus mutations in the genes that regulate the size of the neural stem cell compartment are among the most important drivers of vertebrate evolution.
Thy-1 or CD90 is a 25–37 kDa heavily N-glycosylated, glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored conserved cell surface protein with a single V-like immunoglobulin domain, originally discovered as a thymocyte antigen. Thy-1 can be used as a marker for a variety of stem cells and for the axonal processes of mature neurons. Structural study of Thy-1 led to the foundation of the Immunoglobulin superfamily, of which it is the smallest member, and led to some of the initial biochemical description and characterization of a vertebrate GPI anchor and also the first demonstration of tissue specific differential glycosylation.
Elaine V. Fuchs is an American cell biologist known for her work on the biology and molecular mechanisms of mammalian skin and skin diseases, who helped lead the modernization of dermatology. Fuchs pioneered reverse genetics approaches, which assess protein function first and then assess its role in development and disease. In particular, Fuchs researches skin stem cells and their production of hair and skin. She is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at The Rockefeller University.
Betacellulin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BTC gene located on chromosome 4 at locus 4q13-q21. Betacellulin was initially identified as a mitogen. Betacellulin, is a part of an Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) family and functions as a ligand for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The role of betacellulin as an EGF is manifested differently in various tissues, and it has a great effect on nitrogen signaling in retinal pigment epithelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. While many studies attest a role for betacellulin in the differentiation of pancreatic β-cells, the last decade witnessed the association of betacellulin with many additional biological processes, ranging from reproduction to the control of neural stem cells. Betacellulin is a member of the EGF family of growth factors. It is synthesized primarily as a transmembrane precursor, which is then processed to mature molecule by proteolytic events.
Tumor protein p63, typically referred to as p63, also known as transformation-related protein 63, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TP63 gene.
Integrin beta-5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ITGB5 gene.
Zinc finger protein 148 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZNF148 gene.
Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4, also known as melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (MCSP) or neuron-glial antigen 2 (NG2), is a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan that in humans is encoded by the CSPG4 gene.
Gail Roberta Martin is an American biologist. She is professor emerita in the Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco. She is known for her pioneering work on the isolation of pluripotent stem cells from normal embryos, for which she coined the term 'embryonic stem cells'. She is widely recognized for her work on the function of fibroblast growth factors and their negative regulators in vertebrate organogenesis. She and her colleagues made contributions to gene targeting technology.
Stem cell markers are genes and their protein products used by scientists to isolate and identify stem cells. Stem cells can also be identified by functional assays. Below is a list of genes/protein products that can be used to identify various types of stem cells, or functional assays that do the same. The initial version of the list below was obtained by mining the PubMed database as described in
Maria Leptin is a German developmental biologist and immunologist, and the current president of the European Research Council. She was the director of the European Molecular Biology Organization from 2010 to 2021.
Ketan Jayakrishna Patel is a British–Kenyan scientist who is Director of the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at the University of Oxford. Until 2020 he was a tenured principal investigator at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB).
Ruth Lehmann is a developmental and cell biologist. She is the Director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. She previously was affiliated with the New York University School of Medicine, where she was the Director of the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Cell Biology, and the Chair of the Department of Cell Biology. Her research focuses on germ cells and embryogenesis.
Pleasantine Mill is a cell biologist and group leader at the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh. She won the 2018 British Society for Cell Biology Women in Cell Biology Early Career Medal.
Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, FMedSci is an English cell biologist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the cellular and molecular biology of the tumour microenvironment and in particular angiogenesis. She is Professor of Angiogenesis and the Tumour Microenvironment and Deputy Institute Director of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London. In 2015 she was awarded the Hooke medal from the British Society for Cell Biology and EMBO membership.
Cédric, Baron Blanpain is a Belgian researcher in the field of stem cells. He is a tenured professor of developmental biology and genetics at Université Libre de Bruxelles and director of the stem cell and cancer lab at its Faculty of Medicine. He was one of the first researchers in the world to use cell lineage tracing in cancer research and he showed for the first time the existence of cancer stem cells in solid tumors in vivo. He was selected by Nature as one of 10 People who mattered most in 2012 and he received the outstanding young investigator award of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
Elizabeth Patton, Ph.D FRSE is professor of chemical genetics and group leader of Medical Research Council Institute for Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, Personal Chair of Melanoma Genetics and Drug Discovery for a disease which kills 20,000 Europeans a year, and accounts for 80% of all skin cancer deaths. Her research into the genetic models and drug interactions testing, sharing international findings, is mainly using zebrafish in conjunction with the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre. She holds a number of academic leadership roles in UK, Europe and international scientific bodies.