Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Skin is one of the largest organs of the body and is formed during development. It protects us against infection and UV rays, inhibits water loss, regulates body temperature and is an important part of the immune system. However despite these critical functions, the precise steps controlling the formation of the skin are still poorly understood. Using transgenic mouse technology, our lab has demonstrated that a family of proteins called Claudins (Cldns), and their involvement in tight junctions (TJs), are very important. Also we were the first to identify Fiz1 as a protein interacting with Cldns which may be important in processes regulating skin formation. Therefore to build on our lab's accumulating data, I will use both cell-based and mouse-based approaches to begin to understand the importance of Fiz1 in the formation of the skin.