Keays Group

David Keays (Group Leader)

(Email)

PostDoc, PhD, Technical Assistant and Diploma positions available!
Applicants please send an email to david.keays(at)imp.ac.at

The Molecular Basis of Migration

One of the most remarkable aspects of life, whether it be a single cell or a multicellular organism, is the ability to move. This is even more astounding when one considers that this movement is frequently equipped with directionality. Whether it be a migratory bird that crosses continents, or a cell that inches forward a micrometer at a time, both have a drive, a direction and a destination. What molecular mechanisms underlie this migration? The Keays lab is investigating two very different forms of migration: (1) the migration of neurons; and (2) the migration of animals mediated by magnetic information.














a neuron on the move...

Selected Publications

  • Lauwers, M., Pichler, P., Edelman, NB., Resch, GP., Ushakova, L., Salzer, MC., Heyers, D., Saunders, M., Shaw, J., Keays, DA. (2013). An Iron-Rich Organelle in the Cuticular Plate of Avian Hair Cells. Curr Biol. (abstract)
  • Breuss, M., Heng, JI., Poirier, K., Tian, G., Jaglin, XH., Qu, Z., Braun, A., Gstrein, T., Ngo, L., Haas, M., Bahi-Buisson, N., Moutard, ML., Passemard, S., Verloes, A., Gressens, P., Xie, Y., Robson, KJ., Rani, DS., Thangaraj, K., Clausen, T., Chelly, J., Cowan, NJ., Keays, DA. (2012). Mutations in the β-Tubulin Gene TUBB5 Cause Microcephaly with Structural Brain Abnormalities. Cell Rep. 2(6):1554-62 (abstract)
  • Treiber, CD., Salzer, MC., Riegler, J., Edelman, N., Sugar, C., Breuss, M., Pichler, P., Cadiou, H., Saunders, M., Lythgoe, M., Shaw, J., Keays, DA. (2012). Clusters of iron-rich cells in the upper beak of pigeons are macrophages not magnetosensitive neurons. Nature. 484(7394):367-70 (abstract)
  • Edwards, A., Treiber, CD., Breuss, M., Pidsley, R., Huang, GJ., Cleak, J., Oliver, PL., Flint, J., Keays, DA. (2011). Cytoarchitectural disruption of the superior colliculus and an enlarged acoustic startle response in the Tuba1a mutant mouse. Neuroscience. 195:191-200 (abstract)
  • Keays, DA., Tian, G., Poirier, K., Huang, GJ., Siebold, C., Cleak, J., Oliver, PL., Fray, M., Harvey, RJ., Molnár, Z., Piñon, MC., Dear, N., Valdar, W., Brown, SD., Davies, KE., Rawlins, JN., Cowan, NJ., Nolan, P., Chelly, J., Flint, J. (2007). Mutations in alpha-tubulin cause abnormal neuronal migration in mice and lissencephaly in humans. Cell. 128(1):45-57 (abstract)

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