Cynthia Gates Goodyer

Cynthia Gates Gooyer, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics Member, Division of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Director, Endocrine Research Laboratory MUHC-MCH Research Institute Place Toulon, Room 415/1 4060 Ste-Catherine Street West Tel: (514) 412-4400 Ext. 22481 Fax: (514) 412-4478 cindy [dot] goodyer [at] muhc [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (E-mail 1) cynthia [dot] goodyer [at] mcgill [dot] ca (E-mail 2)

Research:

For over twenty-five years, my laboratory has been studying various aspects of early growth and development in the human. Our target community has been those fetuses and infants who do not grow well despite the absence of chronic disease. Most recently, we have focused on molecular aspects of the hGH receptor (hGHR) and their clinical implications. We are:

1. mapping the 5’ flanking region of the hGHR gene and analysing the promoter regulatory mechanisms;
2. searching human adipocyte and chondrocyte cDNA libraries for novel tissue-specific hGHR mRNA variants;
3. characterising the hGHR subtypes present in fetal vs postnatal liver as well as the ontogeny of hGHR-activated signal transduction pathways in human hepatocytes;
4. examining the promoter regions of the hGHR gene for polymorphisms/mutations in individuals from both Canada and Japan exhibiting idiopathic short stature, in collaboration with Dr. Tsutomu Ogata, Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan; Dr. Ogata is responsible for the sequencing/SNP analyses and my laboratory will examine the functional significance of the SNPs more frequently expressed in the low growth cohorts compared to adult controls;
5. studying the mechanisms regulating hGHR expression in human adipocytes and chondrocytes and the role of the hGH/hGHR axis in these cells during development and with patho-physiological states (obesity, short stature).

Selected Publications:

(*trainees)

Osafo, J.*, Wei, Y.*, Kenth, G.* and Goodyer, C.G. Growth Hormone During Early Development, in Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, Hill, D and De Pablo, F., Eds, Springer, Norwell, MA, volume 6(3): 173-182, 2005.

Wei, Y.*, Rhani, Z.* and Goodyer, C.G. Characterization of growth hormone receptor mRNA variants in human adipocytes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91: 1901-1908, 2006.

Kenth, G.*, Shao, Z.*, Cole, D.E.C. and Goodyer, C.G. Relationship of human growth hormone receptor exon 3 genotype with final adult height and bone mineral density. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 92: 725-728, 2007.