Andrew J. Watson, PhD


Children’s Health Research Institute
Scientist, Developmental Biology Program


Lawson Health Research Institute
Scientist, Children's Health Research Institute


University of Western Ontario
Professor, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Physiology & Pharmacology


Contact Information
Tel: (519) 685-8500 Ext. 55068
Fax: (519) 685-8186
E-mail: awatson@uwo.ca


Brief Biography

Dr. Andrew Watson received his Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Zoology at the University of Manitoba in 1981. His Masters of Science Degree was conducted in Dr Erwin Huebner’s Laboratory in Zoology at the University of Manitoba where he was an NSERC scholar. In 1984 he entered into his doctorate studies in Dr. Gerald M. Kidder’s laboratory in Zoology at the University of Western Ontario. During this time Dr. Watson was the recipient of an Ontario Graduate Scholarship and his thesis received the Detwiler Award as the most meritorious Ph.D. thesis in the Zoology Department for 1989. Upon completion of his Ph.D. degree, Dr. Watson was awarded Fellowships from the Medical Research Council and the Alberta Heritage Research Foundation to conduct Post Doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Gilbert A. Schultz at the University of Calgary from 1989 until 1992.


Dr. Watson became an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Physiology in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He was awarded an MRC travel grant to conduct research in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department at the University of Adelaide from October 1992 until April 1993. He was also a Scholar of the Medical Research Council of Canada from 1994 until 1999. He was a recipient of a Premier’s Research Excellence Award from the Ontario Provincial Government from 2000-2005. In 1998 Dr Watson was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure and in 2005 to a Full Professor.


Research Interests

Research investigating oocyte maturation, fertilization, and embryonic development is necessary for improved assisted reproductive technologies in animals and humans, and to reveal the causes of abnormal embryonic development. Pregnancy rates following transfer of human embryos produced by the application of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) remain low and one of the principal factors contributing to this outcome is the use of asynchronous embryo-uterine transfers. This type of embryo transfer is employed largely because of an inability to support the development of healthy human preimplantation embryos to the blastocyst stage in vitro. There is a great need to characterize the specific mechanisms controlling early mammalian development to improve success of mammalian embryo culture and, in particular, to develop ways of assessing the health of in vitro derived embryos. Our research is directed at defining the cellular and molecular mechanisms that support development to the blastocyst stage. Blastocyst formation is targeted because this morphogenetic event is dependent upon zygotic transcriptional activity and the blastocyst is an important end point for assessing embryo health.


Research Activities

Our studies investigate the function of gene families that coordinate trophectoderm differentiation (the first epithelium) and blastocyst formation, and have included growth factors; growth factor binding proteins; anti-oxidant enzymes; cell adhesion molecules; tight-junction associated polypeptides; Na/K-ATPase isoforms; aquaporin water channels (AQPs); and most recently RhoGTPases and p38 MAPK signalling pathway members. Our research investigates these events during both mouse and cow preimplantation development. Both of these species are important models for human early development. The use of the mouse provides an opportunity to investigate gene function in transgenic and "gene knock-out lines" while the cow shares many reproductive events with the human including: 1) length of reproductive cycles; 2) ovulation rates; 3) sperm donation of centrosomes; 4) delayed full activation of embryonic transcriptional activity; and 5) similar cleavage and blastocyst formation frequencies in vitro.

Research Programs include: 1) Characterizing the role of the maternal environment in supporting preimplantation development (NSERC 1993-2010); 2) Characterization of Serum Free Culture Conditions for Oocyte Maturation (NIH"Culture Club 1996-2000); 3) Defining the molecular events that contribute to the formation of the blastocyst (MRC 1994-1997; CIHR 2001-2007); and 4) Towards single embryo transfer in the human- Request for Funds Team Grant from the CIHR Institute of Human Development Child and Youth Health; (CIHR 2002-2007).


Representative Publications

  1. Madan P, Rose K, Watson AJ. (2007). Na/K-ATPase b1 subunit expression is required for blastocyst formation and normal assembly of  trophectoderm tight junction associated proteins. J Biol Chem. February 2007, in press.
  2. Hickson JA, Fong B, Watson PH, Watson AJ. (2007). PP2Cd(Ppm1d, WIP1), an endogenous inhibitor of p38 MAPK, is regulated along with Trp 53 and Cdkn2a following p38 MAPK inhibition during mouse preimplantation development. Mol Reprod Dev. November 2006, in press.
  3. Fong B, Watson PH, Watson AJ. (2007). Mouse preimplantation embryo responses to culture medium osmolarity include increased expression of OSM/CCM2/Malcaverin and p38 MAPK activation. BMC Dev Biol. 7:2.
  4. Violette MI, Madan P, Watson AJ. (2005). Na/K-ATPase regulates tight junction formation and function during mouse preimplantation development. Dev Biol. 289(2):406-419.
  5. Madan P, Calder MD, Watson AJ. (2005). MAPK blockade of bovine preimplantation embryogenesis requires inhibition of both p38 and ERK pathways. Reproduction. 130:41-51.
  6. Paliga A, Natale DR, Watson AJ. (2005). P38 Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) regulates actin and compaction during murine pre-implantation development. Biol Cell. 97:629-640.
  7. Calder MD, Caveney AN, Sirard M-A, Watson AJ. (2005). Effect of serum and cumulus-cell expansion on marker gene transcripts in bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) during maturation in vitro. Fert Steril. 83:1077-1085.
  8. McCaffrey LM, Willard FS, Oliviera-dos Santos A, Natale DRC, Snow BE, Kimple RJ, Pajak A, Watson AJ, Dagnino L, Penninger JM, Siderovksi DP, D’Souza SJA. (2004). RGS14 is a mitotic spindle protein essential from the first division of the mammalian zygote. Dev Cell. 7:763-769.
  9. Barcroft LC, Moseley AE, Lingrel JB, Watson AJ. (2004). Deletion of the Na/K-ATPase a1-subunit gene (ATP1a1) does not prevent cavitation of the preimplantation mouse embryo. Mech Dev. 121:417-426.
  10. Natale DR, Paliga A, Beier F, D’Souza SJA, Watson AJ. (2004). P38 MAPK signaling during murine preimplantation development. Dev Biol. 268:76-88.
  11. Natale DR, Watson AJ. (2003). Rac-1 and IQGAP are potential regulators of E-cadherin-catenin interactions during murine preimplantation development. Mech Dev. 119S:S21-S26.
  12. Gill S, Khokha R, Pape C, Watson AJ, Leco K. (2003). A Null Mutation for Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-3 (Timp-3) Impairs Murine Bronchiole Branching Morphogenesis. Dev Biol. 261:313-323.
  13. Calder MD, Caveney AN, Smith LC, Watson AJ. (2003). Responsiveness of bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) to porcine and recombinant FSH, Lhr and CX43 marker gene mRNAS during oocyte maturation in vitro. Reprod Biol Endo. 1:14 (12 pages).
  14. Barcroft LC, Offenberg H, Watson AJ. (2003). Aquaporin proteins in murine trophectoderm mediate trans-epithelial water movements during cavitation. Dev Biol. 256:342-354.