Mungo Marsden

Mungo Marsden
Associate Professor Emerit, Adjunct Professor

Biography

Professor Marsden's research interests are centered around the molecular mechanisms that mediate changes in biological form. In particular he is interested in the modulation of cell adhesion states that allow for the complex three dimensional rearrangements that characterize early embryogenesis. These changes in adhesive state are under strict spatial and temporal control, and in many cases stem from extra-cellular signals that cells perceive in their immediate environment.

Professor Marsden's major line of research involve two families of cell adhesion molecules, the integrins, and the cadherins. Recent evidence indicates the regulation of adhesive states is through a direct cross-talk between these molecules, indicating a coordination between cell–matrix and cell–cell adhesion. This regulation of cell adhesion is not only found during early development but is also of fundamental significance to a wide variety of health related issues such as cancer and wound healing.

Research Interests

  • Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology

  • Molecular Genetics

  • Bioinformatics, Systematics and Evolution

Education

  • 1995 Ph.D. Developmental Biology, University of Victoria, Canada

  • 1989 M.Sc. Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, Canada

  • 1995 B.Sc. Biology, University of Calgary, Canada

Awards

  • 1995-1997 ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland

  • 1994-1995 University of Victoria Graduate Teaching Fellowship

  • 1990-1994 King Platt Fellowship, University of Victoria

  • 1988-1989 University of Calgary Graduate Fees Scholarship

  • 1987-1989 AHFMR Summer Studentship

  • 1987 NSERC Summer Studentship

  • 1985 NSERC Summer Studentship

Service

  • University of Waterloo Senate, Faculty-at-Large representative for the Faculty of Science

  • University of Waterloo Long Range Planning Committee

  • Journal Reviews: PLOS One, BMC Developmental Biology, Development, Developmental Biology

Affiliations and Volunteer Work

  • Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Teaching*

  • BIOL 130 - Introductory Cell Biology
    • Taught in 2024
  • BIOL 303 - Introductory Developmental Biology and Embryology
    • Taught in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

Selected/Recent Publications

  • 2015 Kostadinka Bizheva, Bingyao Tan, Tyler Monahan, Julia Zangalous, Mungo Marsden, Mojtaba Hajialamdari 2 µm axial resolution, fiber-optic SD-OCT operating at 1300 nm for cellular resolution imaging of biological tissue. Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine.

  • 2015 M. Sheikholeslam, S. Wheeler, K. Duke, M. Marsden, M. Pritzker and P. Chen. Peptide and Peptide-Carbon Nanotube Hydrogels as Scaffolds for Tissue & 3D Tumor Engineering. Nanoscale (accepted).

  • 2012 A.Taeb, , M. A. Basha, S. Gigoyan, M. Marsden, S. Safavi-Naeini Label-Free DNA Sensing Using Millimeter-Wave Silicon WGM Resonator Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

  • 2012 Dinushan Nesan, Maryam Kamkar, Jeffery Burrows, Ian C. Scott, Mungo Marsden and Mathilakath M. Vijayan Glucocorticoid recepter signalling is critical for early development in zebrafish . Endocrinology 153(3): 1288-1300.

  • 2010 GW Brodland, X Chen, P Lee, M Marsden From Genes to Neural Tube Defects (NTDs): Insights from Multi-scale Computational Modeling HFSP JOURNAL 4 (3) Pages: 142-152.

Graduate studies