Associate Professor

Dustin Updike, Ph.D.

How do stem cells maintain pluripotency -- the capacity to become other cell types in the body? Can our ability to regenerate after disease or injury be improved with the ability to switch on and off cellular pluripotency?

To answer these and other questions, the Updike Lab derives cues from quintessential stem cells found in the germline. Germline stem cells (GSCs) are the precursors to oocytes and sperm, and these cells must retain their stem cell attributes so that fertilized embryos can give rise to all of the cell types of each subsequent generation.

News Articles

Three Co-Lin biomedical research students complete prestigious internships Copiah Lincoln Community College · January 27, 2023
2022 MDI Biological Laboratory Publications Blog · January 27, 2023
Tiny Worlds, Big Science: MDIBL Scientists See Deeper Inside the Cell Blog · January 27, 2023
Breaking Through: Creating a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence Publication · Fall 2022
Scientists Reveal an Unexpected Gene in Worms Press Release · November 7, 2022
Breaking Through: Finding New Ways to Light Up Biology Publication · Winter/Spring 2022
Visiting Scientist Brett Keiper, Ph.D.: Taking the Time for Creative Inspiration Blog · Winter/Spring 2022
Meet Our Postdocs: Hyemin Min, Ph.D. Blog · Winter/Spring 2022
Meet Our Postdocs: Emily Spaulding, Ph.D. Blog · Winter/Spring 2022
ECU researcher learns new techniques to study mRNA ECU News · August 26, 2021

Publications

Spaulding EL, Feidler AM, Cook LA, Updike DL. RG/RGG repeats in the C. elegans homologs of Nucleolin and GAR1 contribute to sub-nucleolar phase separation. Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 3;13(1):6585. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34225-5. PMID: 36329008; PMCID: PMC9633708.
Rochester JD, Min H, Gajjar GA, Sharp CS, Maki NJ, Rollins JA, Keiper BD, Graber JH, Updike DL. GLH-1/Vasa represses neuropeptide expression and drives spermiogenesis in the C. elegans germline. Dev Biol. 2022 Oct 20:S0012-1606(22)00192-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.10.003.
Marnik EA, Almeida MV, Cipriani PG, Chung G, Caspani E, Karaulanov E, Gan HH, Zinno J, Isolehto IJ, Kielisch F, Butter F, Sharp CS, Flanagan RM, Bonnet FX, Piano F, Ketting RF, Gunsalus KC, Updike DL. The Caenorhabditis elegans TDRD5/7-like protein, LOTR-1, interacts with the helicase ZNFX-1 to balance epigenetic signals in the germline. PLoS Genet. 2022 Jun 3;18(6):e1010245. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010245. PMID: 35657999; PMCID: PMC9200344.
Phillips CM, Updike DL. Germ granules and gene regulation in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline. Genetics. 2022 Mar 3;220(3):iyab195. doi: 10.1093/genetics/iyab195. PMID: 35239965.
Goudeau J, Sharp CS, Paw J, Savy L, Leonetti MD, York AG, Updike DL, Kenyon C, Ingaramo M. Split-wrmScarlet and split-sfGFP: tools for faster, easier fluorescent labeling of endogenous proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 2021 Apr 15;217(4):iyab014. doi: 10.1093/genetics/iyab014. PMID: 33693628; PMCID: PMC8049552.

More Publications

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Santa Cruz, 2007-2012
Ph.D., University of Utah, 2006
B.S., University of Wyoming, 1999

Lab Members

Hyemin Min, Ph.D.Postdoctoral Researcher

Hyemin Min, Postdoctoral Researcher, 2015 MS and 2020 PhD in Bioscience & Biotechnology from Konkuk University in Seoul, Korea. At MDIBL, Dr. Min investigates the role of germ granules and translational regulation during spermatogenesis as well as conserved signaling events at the onset of fertilization. (hmin@mdibl.org)

Emily Spaulding, Ph.D.Postdoctoral Researcher

Emily Spaulding, Postdoctoral Researcher, 2005 BS in Biology and 2010 MS of Secondary Science Education from Gordon College, 2019 PhD in Biomedical Sciences through the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences & Engineering (GSBSE) while at the Jackson Laboratory. At MDIBL, Dr. Spaulding investigates core germ granule interactions and the role of intrinsically disordered motifs that are common to both germ granules and nucleoli. (espaulding@mdibl.org)

Catherine SharpResearch Assistant II

Catherine Sharp, Research Assistant II, 2015 BS in Biology from Colby College. At MDIBL, Catherine investigates the function of several core germ-granule proteins and their role in cellular potency and germ cell identity. She has streamlined the process of CRISPR-based genomic engineering in the Updike lab. (csharp@mdibl.org)

Noah LindResearch Assistant

Noah Lind, Research Assistant, 2021 BS in Biochemistry from the University of Vermont. At MDIBL, Noah is studying germline phase separation and how it affects protein translation. (nlind@mdibl.org)