Claire Watson, Ph.D.

Claire Watson, PhD

Acting Instructor

Musculoskeletal Systems Biology Lab


Education

Ph.D. University of Washington – Pharmacology/Auditory Genetics (2012)
B.S. Trinity University – Biochemistry (2006)

Research

I’m currently trying to understand what genes underlie important physiological stages in bone formation using zebrafish tail fin regeneration as a model system. Broadly, my research interests include anything to do with genetics (particularly gene interactions, non-coding RNAs and alternate transcript usage), mechanotransduction (sensory cells!) and/or calcium regulation, among many other things. In my graduate work, I studied the role of a calcium pump (PMCA2) in auditory transduction and am working to apply my knowledge of genetics and molecular biology to the skeletal world.

Contact Info

Email: cwalk1@uw.edu
Phone: (206) 897-5600

Honors

  • 2010-2012: UW T32 Training Fellowship, Speech and Hearing Sciences 
  • 2007-2010: UW T32 Training Fellowship, Auditory Neuroscience 
  • 2007-2008: Representative for the UW Pharmacology Student Association
  • 2006: McGavock Award Recipient, Awarded by the Trinity University Chemistry Department
  • 2005: Trinity University Chemistry Department Junior Achievement Award
  • 2003: Dow Chemical Scholarship, Awarded by the Trinity University Chemistry Department

Publications

Watson C.J. and Kwon R.Y. (2015) Under review at BoneKEy Reports. Zebrafish Fin Regeneration as a Rapid and High-Content Model for Bone Biomedical Research

Watson C.J. and Tempel B.L. (In prep, 2015) Deafwaddler mutants reveal differential regulation of Atp2b2 in CBA/CaJ and C57BL/6J with correlations to hearing loss severity.

Watson C.J., Lies S.M., Minich, R.R., Tempel B.L. (2014) Changes in cochlear PMCA2 expression after the onset of hearing coincide with the maturation of auditory sensitivity. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 15(4), 543-554.

Watson C.J. and Tempel B.L. (2013) A new Atp2b2 deafwaddler allele, dfwi5, interacts strongly with Cdh23 and other auditory modifiers. Hear Res 304, 41-48.

Konopka C.A., Locke M.N., Gallagher P.S., Pham N., Hart M.P., Walker C.J., Gitler A.D., Gardner R.G. (2011) A yeast model for polyalanine-expansion aggregation and toxicity. Mol Biol Cell 22(12), 1971-1984.

Bachrach S.M., Walker C.J., Lee F., Royce S. (2007) Effect of ring strain on nucleophilic substitution at selenium: a computational study of cyclic diselenides and selenenyl sulfides. J Org Chem 72, 5174-82.

Selected Abstracts

Thornton J.L., Watson C.J., Tempel B.L. Abstract #PD-043. February 2014. Effects of cysteine mutagenesis on calcium clearance rates in PMCA2. Association for Research in Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting, San Diego, CA, Podium Talk.

Minich R.R., Watson C.J., Tempel B.L. Abstract #84. June 2013. Transcriptional regulation of PMCA2 in inbred mouse strains. Conference on the Molecular Biology of Hearing and Deafness, Palo Alto, CA, Poster Presentation.

Watson, C.J., Tempel B.L. October 2012. Ancestral haplotype affects gene expression in deafwaddler mice. Northwest Auditory and Vestibular Meeting, Portland, OR, Podium Talk.