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Urs C. Schmidt-Ott

TitleProfessor
InstitutionUniversity of Chicago
DepartmentOrganismal Biology and Anatomy
AddressChicago IL 60637
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0002-1351-9472 Additional info
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    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse overview
    The Schmidt-Ott lab uses experimental and genomic approaches to study the molecular basis of evolutionary novelties and causes of developmental systems drift in embryos, using a broad range old and new fly models, including midges and mosquitoes (Diptera). We are interested in mechanisms pattern formation and morphogenesis. We welcome students and scholars who are interested in using our zoo of fly species to understand how plasticity and robustness shape gene networks and developmental mechanisms.

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    Max-Planck-Institute f. Biophys. Chemistry, Göttingen (Germany)Postdoc1997Molecular Developmental Biology
    University of Mainz, Mainz (Germany)PhD1994Genetics
    University of Freiburg, Freiburg i. Br. (Germany)Diplom1990Biology
    Collapse awards and honors
    1989Fellow, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
    1994PhD summa cum laude, University of Mainz
    1995Dissertation Research Award, Association of Friends of the University of Mainz
    1995 - 1997Postdoctoral Fellowship, German Research Foundation (DFG)
    2001Habilitation, Technical University of Braunschweig (Germany)

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse research activities and funding
    R01GM127366     (SCHMIDT-OTT, URS C)Sep 18, 2018 - Aug 31, 2020
    NIH
    Genetic variation and function of body axis determinants in midges and other flies
    Role: Principal Investigator

    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.
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    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. Lanzetta P, Korobelnik JF, Heier JS, Leal S, Holz FG, Clark WL, Eichenbaum D, Iida T, Xiaodong S, Berliner AJ, Schulze A, Schmelter T, Schmidt-Ott U, Zhang X, Vitti R, Chu KW, Reed K, Rao R, Bhore R, Cheng Y, Sun W, Hirshberg B, Yancopoulos GD, Wong TY, PULSAR Investigators. Intravitreal aflibercept 8 mg in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (PULSAR): 48-week results from a randomised, double-masked, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2024 Mar 23; 403(10432):1141-1152. PMID: 38461841.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:CTClinical Trials
    2. Brown DM, Boyer DS, Do DV, Wykoff CC, Sakamoto T, Win P, Joshi S, Salehi-Had H, Seres A, Berliner AJ, Leal S, Vitti R, Chu KW, Reed K, Rao R, Cheng Y, Sun W, Voronca D, Bhore R, Schmidt-Ott U, Schmelter T, Schulze A, Zhang X, Hirshberg B, Yancopoulos GD, Sivaprasad S, PHOTON Investigators. Intravitreal aflibercept 8 mg in diabetic macular oedema (PHOTON): 48-week results from a randomised, double-masked, non-inferiority, phase 2/3 trial. Lancet. 2024 Mar 23; 403(10432):1153-1163. PMID: 38461843.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:CTClinical Trials
    3. Zografos LJ, Andrews E, Wolin DL, Calingaert B, Davenport EK, Michel A, Latocha M, Schmidt-Ott UM, Lovic N, Brunck LR, Johnson KT, Suzart-Woischnik K. Evaluation of Physician Knowledge of Safety and Safe Use Information for Intravitreal Aflibercept Injection in Europe: A Second Survey of Physicians Following Dissemination of Updated Risk-Minimization Materials. Pharmaceut Med. 2024 Jan; 38(1):63-73. PMID: 38049618; PMCID: PMC10824811.
      Citations:    Translation:Humans
    4. Li M, Kasan K, Saha Z, Yoon Y, Schmidt-Ott U. Twenty-seven ZAD-ZNF genes of Drosophila melanogaster are orthologous to the embryo polarity determining mosquito gene cucoid. PLoS One. 2023; 18(1):e0274716. PMID: 36595500; PMCID: PMC9810180.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    5. Schmidt-Ott U, Kwan CW. How two extraembryonic epithelia became one: serosa and amnion features and functions of Drosophila's amnioserosa. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2022 12 05; 377(1865):20210265. PMID: 36252222; PMCID: PMC9574642.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    6. Sheng G, Boroviak TE, Schmidt-Ott U, Srinivas S. Extraembryonic tissues: exploring concepts, definitions and functions across the animal kingdom. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2022 12 05; 377(1865):20210250. PMID: 36252213; PMCID: PMC9574640.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Animals
    7. Schmidt-Ott U, Yoon Y. Evolution and loss of ß-catenin and TCF-dependent axis specification in insects. Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2022 04; 50:100877. PMID: 35104659; PMCID: PMC9133022.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    8. Yoon Y, Klomp J, Martin-Martin I, Criscione F, Calvo E, Ribeiro J, Schmidt-Ott U. Embryo polarity in moth flies and mosquitoes relies on distinct old genes with localized transcript isoforms. Elife. 2019 10 08; 8. PMID: 31591963; PMCID: PMC6783274.
      Citations: 12     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    9. Liu Q, Onal P, Datta RR, Rogers JM, Schmidt-Ott U, Bulyk ML, Small S, Thornton JW. Ancient mechanisms for the evolution of the bicoid homeodomain's function in fly development. Elife. 2018 10 09; 7. PMID: 30298815; PMCID: PMC6177261.
      Citations: 13     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    10. Oppold AM, Schmidt H, Rose M, Dolze F, Ripp F, Weich B, Schmidt-Ott U, Schmidt E, Hankeln T, Pfenninger M, Hellmann SL, Kofler R. Chironomus riparius (Diptera) genome sequencing reveals the impact of minisatellite transposable elements on population divergence. Mol Ecol. 2017 Jun; 26(12):3256-3275. PMID: 28316106.
      Citations: 4     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    11. Kwan CW, Gavin-Smyth J, Ferguson EL, Schmidt-Ott U. Functional evolution of a morphogenetic gradient. Elife. 2016 12 22; 5. PMID: 28005004; PMCID: PMC5224919.
      Citations: 10     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    12. Schmidt-Ott U, Lynch JA. Emerging developmental genetic model systems in holometabolous insects. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2016 08; 39:116-128. PMID: 27399647.
      Citations: 10     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    13. Schmidt-Ott U, Kwan CW. Morphogenetic functions of extraembryonic membranes in insects. Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2016 02; 13:86-92. PMID: 27436557.
      Citations: 15     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    14. Klomp J, Athy D, Kwan CW, Bloch NI, Sandmann T, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Embryo development. A cysteine-clamp gene drives embryo polarity in the midge Chironomus. Science. 2015 May 29; 348(6238):1040-2. PMID: 25953821; PMCID: PMC4449817.
      Citations: 22     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Wotton KR, Crombach A, Janssens H, Alcaine-Colet A, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U, Jaeger J, Jiménez-Guri E. Quantitative system drift compensates for altered maternal inputs to the gap gene network of the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita. Elife. 2015 Jan 05; 4. PMID: 25560971; PMCID: PMC4337606.
      Citations: 30     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    16. Rafiqi AM, Park CH, Kwan CW, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. BMP-dependent serosa and amnion specification in the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita. Development. 2012 Sep; 139(18):3373-82. PMID: 22874914.
      Citations: 22     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    17. Jamniczky HA, Young NM, Rolian C, Schmidt-Ott U, Marcucio RS, Hallgrímsson B. The generation of variation and the developmental basis for evolutionary novelty. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2012 Sep; 318(6):501-17. PMID: 22649039; PMCID: PMC3648206.
      Citations: 20     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    18. Lemke S, Antonopoulos DA, Meyer F, Domanus MH, Schmidt-Ott U. BMP signaling components in embryonic transcriptomes of the hover fly Episyrphus balteatus (Syrphidae). BMC Genomics. 2011 May 31; 12:278. PMID: 21627820; PMCID: PMC3224130.
      Citations: 8     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    19. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Megaselia abdita: culturing and egg collection. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2011 Apr 01; 2011(4):pdb.prot5600. PMID: 21460049.
      Citations: 7     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    20. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. The scuttle fly Megaselia abdita (Phoridae): a link between Drosophila and Mosquito development. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2011 Apr 01; 2011(4):pdb.emo143. PMID: 21460041.
      Citations: 12     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    21. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Megaselia abdita: fixing and devitellinizing embryos. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2011 Apr 01; 2011(4):pdb.prot5602. PMID: 21460051.
      Citations: 15     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    22. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Megaselia abdita: preparing embryos for injection. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2011 Apr 01; 2011(4):pdb.prot5601. PMID: 21460050.
      Citations: 4     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    23. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Megaselia abdita: cuticle preparation from injected embryos. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2011 Apr 01; 2011(4):pdb.prot5603. PMID: 21460052.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    24. Wiegmann BM, Trautwein MD, Winkler IS, Barr NB, Kim JW, Lambkin C, Bertone MA, Cassel BK, Bayless KM, Heimberg AM, Wheeler BM, Peterson KJ, Pape T, Sinclair BJ, Skevington JH, Blagoderov V, Caravas J, Kutty SN, Schmidt-Ott U, Kampmeier GE, Thompson FC, Grimaldi DA, Beckenbach AT, Courtney GW, Friedrich M, Meier R, Yeates DK. Episodic radiations in the fly tree of life. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Apr 05; 108(14):5690-5. PMID: 21402926; PMCID: PMC3078341.
      Citations: 275     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    25. Lemke S, Busch SE, Antonopoulos DA, Meyer F, Domanus MH, Schmidt-Ott U. Maternal activation of gap genes in the hover fly Episyrphus. Development. 2010 May; 137(10):1709-19. PMID: 20430746.
      Citations: 18     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    26. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Postgastrular zen expression is required to develop distinct amniotic and serosal epithelia in the scuttle fly Megaselia. Dev Biol. 2010 May 01; 341(1):282-90. PMID: 20144604.
      Citations: 15     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    27. Schmidt-Ott U, Rafiqi AM, Lemke S. Hox3/zen and the evolution of extraembryonic epithelia in insects. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010; 689:133-44. PMID: 20795328.
      Citations: 12     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    28. Schmidt-Ott U, Rafiqi AM, Sander K, Johnston JS. Extremely small genomes in two unrelated dipteran insects with shared early developmental traits. Dev Genes Evol. 2009 Apr; 219(4):207-10. PMID: 19308443.
      Citations: 9     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    29. Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U. Evidence for a composite anterior determinant in the hover fly Episyrphus balteatus (Syrphidae), a cyclorrhaphan fly with an anterodorsal serosa anlage. Development. 2009 Jan; 136(1):117-27. PMID: 19060334.
      Citations: 17     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    30. Lemke S, Stauber M, Shaw PJ, Rafiqi AM, Prell A, Schmidt-Ott U. Bicoid occurrence and Bicoid-dependent hunchback regulation in lower cyclorrhaphan flies. Evol Dev. 2008 Jul-Aug; 10(4):413-20. PMID: 18638318.
      Citations: 16     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    31. Lemke S, Schmidt-Ott U, Stauber M. Expression and regulation of caudal in the lower cyclorrhaphan fly Megaselia. Dev Genes Evol. 2008 Feb; 218(2):81-7. PMID: 18214532; PMCID: PMC2757626.
      Citations: 9     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    32. Rafiqi AM, Lemke S, Ferguson S, Stauber M, Schmidt-Ott U. Evolutionary origin of the amnioserosa in cyclorrhaphan flies correlates with spatial and temporal expression changes of zen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jan 08; 105(1):234-9. PMID: 18172205; PMCID: PMC2224192.
      Citations: 34     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    33. Schmidt-Ott U. Insect serosa: a head line in comparative developmental genetics. Curr Biol. 2005 Apr 12; 15(7):R245-7. PMID: 15823522.
      Citations: 4     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    34. Bullock SL, Stauber M, Prell A, Hughes JR, Ish-Horowicz D, Schmidt-Ott U. Differential cytoplasmic mRNA localisation adjusts pair-rule transcription factor activity to cytoarchitecture in dipteran evolution. Development. 2004 Sep; 131(17):4251-61. PMID: 15280214.
      Citations: 27     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    35. Schmidt-Ott U, Sander K. Evo-devo aspects of classical and molecular data in a historical perspective. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2004 Jan 15; 302(1):69-91. PMID: 14760654.
      Citations: 6     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    36. Prell A, Schmidt-Ott U, Stauber M. A single Hox3 gene with composite bicoid and zerknullt expression characteristics in non-Cyclorrhaphan flies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Jan 08; 99(1):274-9. PMID: 11773616; PMCID: PMC117551.
      Citations: 51     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    37. Brown S, Fellers J, Shippy T, Denell R, Stauber M, Schmidt-Ott U. A strategy for mapping bicoid on the phylogenetic tree. Curr Biol. 2001 Jan 23; 11(2):R43-4. PMID: 11231138.
      Citations: 12     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    38. Schmidt-Ott U. Different ways to make a head. Bioessays. 2001 Jan; 23(1):8-11. PMID: 11135304.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    39. Taubert H, Schmidt-Ott U, Stauber M. Function of bicoid and hunchback homologs in the basal cyclorrhaphan fly Megaselia (Phoridae). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Sep 26; 97(20):10844-9. PMID: 10995461; PMCID: PMC27111.
      Citations: 24     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    40. Schmidt-Ott U. The amnioserosa is an apomorphic character of cyclorrhaphan flies. Dev Genes Evol. 2000 Jul; 210(7):373-6. PMID: 11180843.
      Citations: 21     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    41. Schmidt-Ott U, Stauber M, Jäckle H. The anterior determinant bicoid of Drosophila is a derived Hox class 3 gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Mar 30; 96(7):3786-9. PMID: 10097115; PMCID: PMC22372.
      Citations: 73     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    42. Niessing D, Schmidt-Ott U, Gehring WJ, Rivera-Pomar R, Jäckle H. RNA binding and translational suppression by bicoid. Nature. 1996 Feb 22; 379(6567):746-9. PMID: 8602224.
      Citations: 73     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    43. Schmidt-Ott U, González-Gaitán M, Technau GM. Analysis of neural elements in head-mutant Drosophila embryos suggests segmental origin of the optic lobes. Rouxs Arch Dev Biol. 1995 Sep; 205(1-2):31-44. PMID: 28306063.
      Citations: 7     
    44. Technau GM, Schmidt-Ott U, González-Gaitán M, Jäckle H. Number, identity, and sequence of the Drosophila head segments as revealed by neural elements and their deletion patterns in mutants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Aug 30; 91(18):8363-7. PMID: 7915837; PMCID: PMC44606.
      Citations: 21     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    45. Schmidt-Ott U, Martin Technau G. Fate-mapping in the procephalic region of the embryonic Drosopbila head. Rouxs Arch Dev Biol. 1994 Aug; 203(7-8):367-373. PMID: 28305941.
      Citations: 2     
    46. Schmidt-Ott U, Sander K, Technau GM. Expression of engrailed in embryos of a beetle and five dipteran species with special reference to the terminal regions. Rouxs Arch Dev Biol. 1994 May; 203(6):298-303. PMID: 28305822.
      Citations: 12     
    47. Technau GM, Schmidt-Ott U. Expression of en and wg in the embryonic head and brain of Drosophila indicates a refolded band of seven segment remnants. Development. 1992 Sep; 116(1):111-25. PMID: 1483381.
      Citations: 35     Fields:    Translation:Animals
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