Dale Laird
Professor & Chair
University of Western Ontario
Canada
Biography
Dale W Laird and his research team has been examining the role of connexin gap junction proteins in health and disease for over 25 years. Since being recruited from McGill University in 1997, Dr. Laird’s research program has flourished as connexin gene mutations were discovered and shown to cause many human diseases. This coincided with the generation of numerous genetically-modified mice where connexin genes were ablated or mutated to mimic human diseases. Dr. Laird’s laboratory routinely employs these mutant mice together with organotypic cultures and patient cells to investigate the link between connexin gene mutations and a diverse array of diseases and syndromes ranging from skeletal development anomalies to skin disease.
Research Interest
interests involve studies related to the function of gap junction proteins, connexins, and a related family of channel proteins, pannexins, in health and disease