UMass Boston

Catherine McCusker, Associate Professor, Biology

Catherine McCusker

Department:
Biology
Title:
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
Location:
ISC Floor 05 05750
Phone:
617.287.4473

Send Email

Biography

Dr. McCusker is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) working broadly on salamander limb regeneration. She has over 20 years of experience working on molecular developmental biology questions in amphibian models and launched her research laboratory in 2015 at UMASS Boston. At UMass Boston, she leads a strong and well-connected team of student researchers (undergraduate, graduate, and postbaccalaureate levels).

Area of Expertise

Developmental biology, amphibian limb regeneration, development and implementation of novel surgical techniques, cell, and molecular biology. 

Professional Publications & Contributions

Publications At UMass Boston

McCusker CD indicates senior corresponding author * indicates postdoctoral trainee, ** indicates graduate student, and *** indicates undergraduate researcher from the PI’s lab

h-index; 20 (since 2019, 16); 10-index is 26 (since 2019, 21), with a total of 3408 citations.

Research articles:

  1. Vieira WA*, Raymond M**, Kelley K***, Cherubino MA**, Sahin H**, McCusker CD. (2023) Integration failure of regenerated limb tissue is associated with incongruencies in positional information in the Mexican axolotl. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2;11:1152510. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1152510.
  2. Grey MJ, Carter ED, Cusaac PC, Peterson AC, Whetstone R, Hertz A, Bletz MC, Woodhams DC, Piovia-Scott J, Tomansic J, Parra Olea G, Hardman R, McCusker CD, and Miller DL. (2023) Broad host susceptibility of North America amphibian species to Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans suggests high invasion potential. Nature Communications, 14(1):3270. DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-38979-4
  3. Wells KM**, Kelley K***, Baumel M**, Vieira W*, and McCusker CD. (2022) Neural control of growth and size in the axolotl limb regenerate. eLife, 10: e68584. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.68584
  4. Duerr TJ, Kyung-Jeon E, Wells KM**, Villanueva A, Siefert AW, Maden M, McCusker CD, and Monaghan JR. (2022) A constitutively expressed fluorescence ubiquitin cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) in axolotls for studying tissue regeneration. Development. 149(6): dev199637. 10.1242/dev.199637
  5. Vieira, W*, Goren, S***, and McCusker, CD. (2021) ECM-mediated positional cues are able to induce pattern, but not new positional information, during axolotl limb regeneration. PLoS ONE, 16(3): 1-15. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248051
  6. Vieira W*, Anderson K, Campbell LG, and McCusker CD (2021) Characterizing the regenerative capacity and growth patterns of the Texas blind salamander (Eurycea rathbuni). Developmental Dynamics, 250, 880-895. DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.245
  7. Vieira W*, Wells K**, Raymond MJ**, De Souza L***, Garcia E**, and McCusker CD. (2019) FGF, BMP, and RA signaling are sufficient for the induction of complete limb regeneration from non-regenerating wounds on Ambystoma Mexicanum limbs. Developmental Biology. 451(2), 146-157. DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.04.008
  8. Vieira W*, Wells K**, Milgrom R***, and McCusker CD. (2018) Exogenous vitamin D signaling alters patterning, differentiation, and tissue integration during limb regeneration in the axolotl. Mechanisms of Development, 153, 1-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2018.08.004
  9. Sosnik J, Vieira WA*, Webster KA**, Siegfried KR, and McCusker CD. (2017) A new and improved algorithm for the quantification of chromatin condensation from microscopic data shows decreased chromatin condensation in regenerating axolotl limb cells. PLoS One. 2(10): 1-12. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0185292
  10. Vieira W*, Sahin H***, Wells K**, and McCusker CD. (2017) Trimethylation of Histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) ChIP-PCR and transcriptional expression data of Ef1-alpha, cyp26A, HoxC10, HoxD10 and HoxD11 in the Xenopus XTC cell line. Data in Brief. 15: 970-974. DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2017.10.056
  11. McCusker CD, Diaz-Castillo C, Sosnik J, Phan A, and Gardiner DM. (2016) Cartilage and bone cells do not participate in skeletal regeneration in Ambystoma mexicanum limbs. Dev Bio. 418:26-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.05.032
  12. McCusker CD, Diaz-Castillo C, Sosnik J, Phan A, and Gardiner, DM. (2016) Histological image data of limb skeletal tissue from larval and adult Ambystoma mexicanum. Data in Brief. 8:1206-1208. DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2016.07.028
  13. McCusker CD, Athippozhy A, Diaz-Castillo C, Fowlkes C, Gardiner DM, and Voss SR. (2015). Positional plasticity in regenerating Amybstoma mexicanum limbs is associated with cell proliferation and pathways of cellular differentiation. BMC Dev. Biol. 15(45):1-17. DOI 10.1186/s12861-015-0095-4

Review articles, book chapters, and editorials:

  1. Raymond M* and McCusker CD. (2023) Making a new limb out of old cells: Exploring endogenous cell reprogramming and its role during limb regeneration. American Journal of Physiology: Cell Biology.
  2. McCusker CD and Rosello-Diez A. (2022) In preprints: new insights into proximal/distal limb patterning and differentiation. Development. 149(19):1-2, DOI 10.1242/dev.201308
  3. Raymond M** and McCusker CD. The accessory limb model regenerative assay and its derivatives. (2023) (Methods in Salamander Research) Edited by Drs. Josh Currie and Ashley Siefert.
  4. McCusker CD, Monaghan J, Whited J. (2022) Salamander models for elucidating mechanisms of developmental biology, evolution, and regeneration: Part two. Developmental Dynamics. 251(6):903-905. DOI: DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.483
  5. Wells KM**, Baumel M**, McCusker CD. (2022) The regulation of growth in developing, homeostatic, and regenerating tetrapod limbs: a minireview. Frontiers. 9:1-9.
  6. McCusker CD, Monaghan J, Whited J. (2021) Salamander models for elucidating mechanisms of developmental biology, evolution, and regeneration: Part one. Developmental Dynamics. 250(6):750-752. DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.358
  7. Vieira W*, Wells K**, and McCusker CD. (2020) Advancements to the Axolotl model for regeneration and aging. Gerontology. 66(3):1-11. DOI: 10.1159/000504294
  8. Vieira W*, McCusker CD. (2019) Hierarchical pattern formation during amphibian limb regeneration. Biosystems, 183:102989-102998. DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2019.102989
  9. Vieira W*, McCusker CD. (2018) Regenerative models for the integration and regeneration of head skeletal tissues. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19(12):3752-3777. DOI: 10.3390/ijms19123752
  10. Vieira W* and McCusker CD. (2017) Chapter 19: Developmental plasticity and tissue integration. (Regenerative engineering and developmental pathways: principles and applications) Edited by Gardiner DM. 411-429. DOI: 10.1201/9781315120188

Postdoctoral and earlier

  1. Wang X, His TC, Guerrero-Juarez CF, Pham K, Cho K, McCusker CD, Monuki ES, Cho KWY, Gay DL, Plikus MV. (2015) Principles and mechanisms of regeneration in the mouse model for wound-induced hair follicle neogenesis. Regeneration. 4:169-181. DOI: 10.1002/reg2.38
  2. McCusker CD, Bryant SV, and Gardiner DM. (2015) The axolotl limb blastema: cellular and molecular mechanisms driving blastema formation and limb regeneration in tetrapods. Regeneration. 2(2):54-71. DOI: 10.1002/reg2.32
  3. McCusker CD, Gardiner DM. (2014) The integration of new and old structures: Applying the lessons learned from limb regeneration to the development of stem cell-based therapies. Disease Models and Mechanisms. 7:593-599. DOI: 10.1242/dmm.013359
  4. McCusker CD, Lehrberg J, Gardiner DM. (2014) Position-specific induction of ectopic limbs in non-regenerating wounds on Axolotl forelimbs. Regeneration. 1(1):27-34. DOI: 10.1002/reg2.10
  5. McCusker CD, Gardiner DM. (2013) Positional information is reprogramed in blastema cells of the regenerating limb of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). PLoS ONE. 8(9):e77064. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077064
  6. Cousin H, Abbruzzese G, McCusker CD, Alfandari D. (2012) ADAM13 function is required in the 3 dimensional context of the embryo during cranial neural crest cell migration. Developmental Biology. 368(2):335-344. DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2012.05.036
  7. McCusker CD, Gardiner DM. (2011) The axolotl model for regeneration and aging research: A mini-review. Gerontology. 57(6):565-571. DOI: 10.1159/000323761
  8. McCusker C, Alfandari D. (2009) Life after proteolysis: Exploring the signaling capabilities of classical cadherin cleavage fragments. Communicative and Integrative Biology. 2(2):155-157. DOI: 10.4161/cib.7700
  9. McCusker C, Cousin H, Neuner R, Alfandari D. (2009) Extracellular cleavage of cadherin-11 by ADAM metalloproteases is essential for cranial ceural crest migration in Xenopus laevis. MBC. 20(1):78-89. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E08-05-0535
  10. Alfandari D., McCusker C, Cousin H. (2008) ADAM function in embryogenesis. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. 20(2):153-163. DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2008.09.006
  11. Neuner R, Cousin H, McCusker C, Coyne M, Alfandari D. (2008) Xenopus ADAM19 is involved in neural, neural crest and muscle development. Mech Dev. 126(3-4):240-255. DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2008.10.010
  12. McCusker C, Carroll JB, Rotello VM. (2005) Cationic polyhedral oligmeric silsesquioxane (POSS) units as carriers for drug delivery processes. ChemComm. 8:996-998. DOI:10.1039/B416266H
  13. Yurkovetskiy A, Choi S, Hiller A, Yin M, McCusker C, Syed S, Fischman A.J, and Papisov M.I. (2005) Fully degradable hydrophilic polyals for protein modification. Biomacromolecules. 6(5):2648-58. DOI: 10.1021/bm049210k
  14. Goodman CM, McCusker CD, Yilmaz T, Rotello VM. (2004) Toxicity of gold nanoparticles functionalized with cationic and anionic side chains. Bioconjugate Chemistry. 15(4):897-900. DOI: 10.1021/bc049951i

Additional Information

She is committed to providing students with valuable research experiences both in the lab and classroom and was recently recognized with the 2023 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award from the School of Science and Mathematics at UMASS Boston.

(Last updated 11/2024)