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Luise Cullen-McEwen

Luise Cullen-McEwen obtained her Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Wollongong (1998), Honours degree at Melbourne University (1999) and her PhD at Monash University (2002). In 2002 she was appointed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology in the School of Biomedical Sciences at Monash University. Luise’s research focuses on kidney development, particularly the regulation of branching morphogenesis and thereby nephron number during embryogenesis. Luise’s PhD studied the role of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) in regulating ureteric branching morphogenesis. GDNF is a key regulator of early branching in the developing kidney. Luise has extensive experience in animal handling, embryo dissection, embryonic kidney culture, whole mount immunofluorescence, histology and unbiased stereology. Luise has applied for NHMRC funding in 2010 for a research project to investigate the effect of maternal hyperglycemia (maternal diabetes) on kidney development.

blue kidney tree

Above Image: Histological section of embryonic day 15 rat kidney stained for ureteric tree (Dolichos Biflorus Agglutinin staining)

green fluoresence image tag

Above Image: Immunofluorescence photomicrographs of the ureteric tree in metanephroi cultured for 3 days in control media (i), or media supplemented with rhGDNF (ii), FCS (iii), or rhGDNF plus 10% FCS (iv).

Publications

Cullen LA, Young RJ, Bertram JF. Studies on the effects of gentamicin on rat metanephric development in vitro. Nephrology 5: 115-123, 2000.
Harper IS, Cullen LA, Bertram JF. Quantitative studies of branching morphogenesis in the developing kidney. In: Branching in nature. Dynamics and morphogenesis of branching structures, from cell to river networks. Chapter VII pg 243-248. Editors: Fleury V, Gouyet JF, Leonetti M. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. 2000.
Cullen-McEwen LA, Drago J, Bertram JF. Nephron endowment in glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) heterozygous mice. Kidney Int: 60; 31-36, 2001.
Fricout G, Cullen-McEwen LA, Harper IS, Jeulin D, Bertram JF. A quantitative method for analyzing 3D branching in embryonic kidneys: Development of a technique and preliminary data. Image Anal Stereol 20: (suppl 1): 36-41, 2001.
Martinez G, Cullen-McEwen LA, Bertram JF. Transforming growth factor- superfamily members: Roles in branching morphogenesis in the kidney. Nephrology 6(6) 274-284, 2001.
Fricout G, Jeulin D, Cullen-McEwen LA, Harper IS, Bertram JF. 3D-skeletonization of ureteric trees in developing kidneys. Mathematical Morphology: proceedings of the V1th international symposium ISMM 2002. Ed. by H. Talbot and R Beare. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, pp. 157-164, 2002.
Cullen-McEwen LA, Fricout G, Harper IS, Jeulin D, Bertram JF. Quantitation of 3-dimensional ureteric branching in the embryonic mouse kidney: an in vitro study. Int J Dev Biol 46:1049-1055, 2002.
Cullen-McEwen LA, Kett MM, Anderson WP, Bertram JF. Nephron number, renal function and arterial pressure in aged GDNF heterozygous mice. Hypertension 41:335-340, 2003.
Moritz K and Cullen-McEwen LA. Kidney development and fetal programming. In: Early life origins of health and adult disease. Eds Wintour-Coghlan EM and Owens JA. Landes Bioscience - available on line at eurekah.com (2005).
Cullen-McEwen LA, Caruana G and Bertram JF. The where, what and why of the developing renal stroma. Nephron Exp Nephrol 99(1) e1-8 (2005). 
Dickinson H, Walker DW, Cullen-McEwen LA, EM Wintour and Moritz K. Spiny mouse (acomys cahirinus) completes nephrogenesis before birth. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 289(2):f273-9 (2005).
Guo M, Ricardo SD, Deane JA, Shi M, Cullen-McEwen LA and Bertram JF. A stereological study of the renal glomerular vasculature in the db/db mouse model. J Anat. 207(6):813-21 (2005).
Caruana G, Cullen-McEwen LA, Nelson A, Gardiner B, Woods K, Gardiner B, Davis MJ, Taylor DF, Teasdale R, Grimmond S, Little M and Bertram J. Spatial gene expression in the t-stage mouse metanephros. Gene Expr Patterns 6(8):807-25 (2006).
Hoppe CC, Evans R, Moritz K, Cullen-McEwen LA, Fitzgerald S, Dowling J and Bertram J. Combined prenatal and postnatal protein restriction influences adult kidney structure, function and arterial pressure. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 292(1):r462-9 (2007).
Singh R, Cullen-McEwen LA, Kett M, Boon WM, Dowling J, Bertram JF and Moritz K. Prenatal corticosterone exposure results in altered AT1/AT2, nephron deficit and hypertension in the rat offspring. J Physiol. 579 (pt2):503-13 (2007).
Little M, Brennan J, Georgas K, Davies J, Davidson D, Baldock R, Beverdam A, Bertram J, Capel B, Chiu Hs, Clements D, Cullen-McEwen L, Fleming J, Gilbert T, Herzlinger D, Houghton D, Kaufman M, Kleymenova E, Koopman P, Lewis A, Mcmahon A, Mendelsohn C, Mitchell E, Rumballe B, Sweeney D, Valerius M, Yamada G, Yang Y, Yu J. A high-resolution anatomical ontology of the developing murine genitourinary tract. Gene Expr Patterns. 7(6):680-99 (2007).
Singh R, Moritz K Bertram J and Cullen-McEwen LA. Effects of dexamethasone exposure on rat metanephric development: in vitro and in vivo studies. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 293(2):f548-54. 2007 Cullen-McEwen LA, Young R, Fricout G, Jeulin D, Harper I, Costantini F and Bertram J. Imaging tools for analysis of the ureteric tree in the developing mouse kidney. In: paddock s.w. (ed). Confocal microscopy. Methods and protocols. 2nd edition. Methods in molecular biology series. Vol 122 Humana Press. (2nd ed. (September 2008).
Shweta A, Cullen-McEwen LA, Kett MM, Evans RG, Denton KM, Fitzgerald SM, Anderson WP, Bertram JF. Glomerular surface area is normalized in mice born with a nephron deficit. No role for AT1 receptors. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 296(3):F583-9 (2009).