Stem Cell Regulation - Senior Research Staff - Dr Emma Baker

Dr Emma Baker

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Education and Professional Experience

2004    PhD, Peter MaCallum Cancer Centre
1999    BSc (Hons), 1st Class Honours, Flinders University of South Australia
1998    BSc, Flinders University

Achievements

2010    International Bone and Mineral Society Travel Award
2007    NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellowship
2004    Lyonel and Joanna Middows Fellowship, Baker Medical Research Inst.
2001    Medibank Private National Young Researcher Award ($5000)
2000    Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship

Research Interests

Osteoblasts have been identified to play significant roles in bone homeostasis and haematopoietic stem cell functions within the bone marrow. Disruption of their functional capacities is predicted to have many disease causing effects, and the correctly defined lineage commitment of osteoblasts is predicted to be a key parameter for specific roles. Specific epigenetic signatures, including histone modification and DNA methylation patterns, determine correct lineage commitment and normal cell function by governing gene expression patterns. Disruption of these patterns has been implicated in contributing to many disease states.

Very little is known of the epigenetic signatures that define commitment to the osteoblast lineage, or define the bone cancer osteosarcoma. Identifying and understanding these signatures are the major aims of my research.

Selected Publications

  1. Bayles R, Baker EK, Eikelis N, El-Osta A, Lambert G. Histone modifications regulate the norepinephrine transporter gene. (2010) Cell Cycle. 9:4600-4601.
  2. Baker EK, El-Osta A. Epigenetic regulation of MDR1 expression: Profiling CpG methylation status using bisulphite sequencing. (2010) Methods in Molecular Biology. 596:183-198.
  3. Brasacchio D, Okabe J, Tikellis C, Balcercyzk A, George P, Baker EK, Calkin AC, Brownlee M, Cooper ME, El-Osta A. Hyperglycemia induces a dynamic cooperativity of histone methylase and demethylase enzymes associated with gene-activating epigenetic marks that co-exist on the lysine tail. (2009) Diabetes. 58(5):1229-1236.
  4. KN H, Pal S, Yarski M, Baker EK, Chow M, DeSilva M, Wang L, Okabe J, Jones PL, Sif S, and El-Osta A. (2006) Reply to Testing for association between MeCP2 and the brahma-associated SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. Nature Genetics. 38(9):964-967.
  5. Baker EK, Johnstone RW, Zalcberg JR, El-Osta A. (2005) Epigenetic changes to the MDR1 locus in reponse to chemotherapeutic drugs. Oncogene. 24(54):8061-8075.
  6. Baker EK*, KN H*, Chow MZ*, Pal S*, Bassal S, Brasacchio D, Wang L, Craig JM, Jones PL, Sif S, and El-Osta A. (2005) Brahma links the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex with MeCP2-dependent transcriptional silencing. Nature Genetics. 37(3):254-264. *Denotes joint first authors.
  7. Baker EK and El-Osta A. (2004) MDR1, chemotherapy and chromatin remodeling. Cancer Biol Ther. 3(9):819-24.
  8. Baker EK and El-Osta A. (2003) The rise of DNA methylation and the importance of chromatin on multidrug resistance in cancer. Exp Cell Res. 290(2):177-194.
  9. El-Osta A, Baker EK, and Wolffe AP. (2001) Profiling methyl-CpG specific determinants on transcriptionally silent chromatin. Mol Biol Rep. 28(4):209-215.