Dr. Howard Baylis

Biography

Professor Howard Baylis has worked on several systems throughout his career, focusing on cell signaling and its relationship to whole animal biology. He obtained his PhD in microbial molecular genetics from the John Innes Institute in Norwich. His research journey has included post-doctoral positions in the Department of Biochemistry at Cambridge and the University of York, which led to a professorship in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. With a particular interest in the signaling networks that utilize calcium and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), his work aims to understand how these signaling pathways regulate physiology and development in animals, focusing on the model organism C. elegans. Currently, he is defining the mechanisms of cell signaling pathways that regulate RNA interference, investigating the interactions between calcium signaling and presenilins, with an emphasis on mutations in human presenilins linked to familial Alzheimer’s disease. His research combines RNAi, genetics, and cell biological techniques to explore gene function and interactions within the context of whole animal physiology.

Research Interests