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Andrew Gillis

TitleAssociate Scientist
InstitutionMarine Biological Laboratory
DepartmentMarine Biological Laboratory
AddressChicago IL 60637
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0003-2062-3777 Additional info
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    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse overview
    The Gillis lab is an interdisciplinary team of embryologists, physiologists and engineers, with a shared aspiration to understand the development and evolution of the vertebrate body plan. We work extensively with embryos of cartilaginous fishes (sharks, skates and holocephalans), though our work is very comparative, and incorporates a wide range of emerging and established developmental model systems. Current research foci in the Gillis lab include: 1) Development, growth and repair of vertebrate cartilage; 2) Evolution of neuroendocrine cell type diversity; and 3) Development and evolution of venom glands.

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, CanadaNSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship11/2014Developmental Biology
    University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKRoyal Society Newton Postdoctoral Fellowship12/2011Developmental Biology
    University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USAPhD08/2009Developmental Biology
    University of Bristol, Bristol, UKMSc09/2005Paleobiology
    Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, CanadaBSc (Hons)05/2004Biology

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Rees JM, Kirk K, Gattoni G, Hockman D, Sleight VA, Ritter DJ, Benito-Gutierrez È, Knapik EW, Crump JG, Fabian P, Gillis JA. A pre-vertebrate endodermal origin of calcitonin-producing neuroendocrine cells. Development. 2024 Oct 15; 151(20). PMID: 39109637.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    2. Sackville MA, Gillis JA, Brauner CJ. The origins of gas exchange and ion regulation in fish gills: evidence from structure and function. J Comp Physiol B. 2024 Oct; 194(5):557-568. PMID: 38530435.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Animals
    3. Rees JM, Palmer MA, Gillis JA. Fgf signalling is required for gill slit formation in the skate, Leucoraja erinacea. Dev Biol. 2024 Feb; 506:85-94. PMID: 38040078; PMCID: PMC11195640.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    4. Gillis JA. Scales, scutes, and embryonic origins of the vertebrate dermal skeleton. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 08 15; 120(33):e2310552120. PMID: 37531377; PMCID: PMC10433271.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Animals
    5. Rees JM, Sleight VA, Clark SJ, Nakamura T, Gillis JA. Ectodermal Wnt signaling, cell fate determination, and polarity of the skate gill arch skeleton. Elife. 2023 03 20; 12. PMID: 36940244; PMCID: PMC10027317.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    6. Sackville MA, Cameron CB, Gillis JA, Brauner CJ. Ion regulation at gills precedes gas exchange and the origin of vertebrates. Nature. 2022 10; 610(7933):699-703. PMID: 36261526.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    7. Hirschberger C, Gillis JA. The pseudobranch of jawed vertebrates is a mandibular arch-derived gill. Development. 2022 07 01; 149(13). PMID: 35762641; PMCID: PMC9340550.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    8. Thiruppathy M, Fabian P, Gillis JA, Crump JG. Gill developmental program in the teleost mandibular arch. Elife. 2022 06 28; 11. PMID: 35762575; PMCID: PMC9239679.
      Citations: 3     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    9. Rees JM, Gillis JA. Distinct proliferative and middle ear skeletal-patterning functions for SHH-expressing epithelia in the chick hyoid arch. Dev Biol. 2022 09; 489:98-108. PMID: 35714752.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    10. Gillis JA, Bennett S, Criswell KE, Rees J, Sleight VA, Hirschberger C, Calzarette D, Kerr S, Dasen J. Big insight from the little skate: Leucoraja erinacea as a developmental model system. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2022; 147:595-630. PMID: 35337464.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    11. Criswell KE, Roberts LE, Koo ET, Head JJ, Gillis JA. hox gene expression predicts tetrapod-like axial regionalization in the skate, Leucoraja erinacea. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 12 21; 118(51). PMID: 34903669; PMCID: PMC8713815.
      Citations: 7     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    12. Hirschberger C, Sleight VA, Criswell KE, Clark SJ, Gillis JA. Conserved and unique transcriptional features of pharyngeal arches in the skate (Leucoraja erinacea) and evolution of the jaw. Mol Biol Evol. 2021 09 27; 38(10):4187-4204. PMID: 33905525; PMCID: PMC8476176.
      Citations: 7     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    13. Sleight VA, Gillis JA. Embryonic origin and serial homology of gill arches and paired fins in the skate, Leucoraja erinacea. Elife. 2020 11 17; 9. PMID: 33198887; PMCID: PMC7671686.
      Citations: 13     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    14. Marconi A, Hancock-Ronemus A, Gillis JA. Adult chondrogenesis and spontaneous cartilage repair in the skate, Leucoraja erinacea. Elife. 2020 05 12; 9. PMID: 32393435; PMCID: PMC7217701.
      Citations: 20     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Criswell KE, Gillis JA. Resegmentation is an ancestral feature of the gnathostome vertebral skeleton. Elife. 2020 02 24; 9. PMID: 32091389; PMCID: PMC7064331.
      Citations: 11     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    16. Criswell KE, Coates MI, Gillis JA. Embryonic origin of the gnathostome vertebral skeleton. Proc Biol Sci. 2017 Nov 29; 284(1867). PMID: 29167367; PMCID: PMC5719183.
      Citations: 6     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    17. Gillis JA, Alsema EC, Criswell KE. Trunk neural crest origin of dermal denticles in a cartilaginous fish. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 12 12; 114(50):13200-13205. PMID: 29158384; PMCID: PMC5740611.
      Citations: 18     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    18. Gillis JA, Tidswell OR. The Origin of Vertebrate Gills. Curr Biol. 2017 Mar 06; 27(5):729-732. PMID: 28190727; PMCID: PMC5344677.
      Citations: 17     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    19. Gillis JA, Hall BK. A shared role for sonic hedgehog signalling in patterning chondrichthyan gill arch appendages and tetrapod limbs. Development. 2016 Apr 15; 143(8):1313-7. PMID: 27095494.
      Citations: 11     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    20. Baker CV, Modrell MS, Gillis JA. The evolution and development of vertebrate lateral line electroreceptors. J Exp Biol. 2013 Jul 01; 216(Pt 13):2515-22. PMID: 23761476; PMCID: PMC4988487.
      Citations: 22     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    21. Gillis JA, Modrell MS, Baker CV. Developmental evidence for serial homology of the vertebrate jaw and gill arch skeleton. Nat Commun. 2013; 4:1436. PMID: 23385581; PMCID: PMC3600657.
      Citations: 23     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    22. Gillis JA, Modrell MS, Northcutt RG, Catania KC, Luer CA, Baker CV. Electrosensory ampullary organs are derived from lateral line placodes in cartilaginous fishes. Development. 2012 Sep; 139(17):3142-6. PMID: 22833123; PMCID: PMC4988488.
      Citations: 24     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    23. Hall BK, Gillis JA. Incremental evolution of the neural crest, neural crest cells and neural crest-derived skeletal tissues. J Anat. 2013 Jan; 222(1):19-31. PMID: 22414251; PMCID: PMC3552412.
      Citations: 21     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    24. Gillis JA, Fritzenwanker JH, Lowe CJ. A stem-deuterostome origin of the vertebrate pharyngeal transcriptional network. Proc Biol Sci. 2012 Jan 22; 279(1727):237-46. PMID: 21676974; PMCID: PMC3223668.
      Citations: 39     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    25. Gillis AJ, Schuller AP, Skordalakes E. Structure of the Tribolium castaneum telomerase catalytic subunit TERT. Nature. 2008 Oct 02; 455(7213):633-7. PMID: 18758444.
      Citations: 136     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
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