Dr Ildiko Somorjai

Senior Lecturer

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 3628
Email: imls@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research areas

My research interests are broadly in evolution and development, with a focus on comparative mechanisms between embryonic processes and regeneration. The main body of my work is carried out in the cephalochordate amphioxus, an invertebrate chordate that is fast emerging as an important model system for understanding the evolution of vertebate characters from an invertebrate ancestor. This is largely facilitated by its "prototypical" genome organisation and simple chordate morphology. The fact that amphioxus regenerates complex structures well as an adult also holds promise for its use as a regeneration model system.

Selected publications

Open access

Adult stem cells host intracellular symbionts: the poriferan archetype
Ereskovsky, A., Rinkevich, B. & Somorjai, I. M. L., 1 Feb 2022, Advances in aquatic invertebrate stem cell research: from basic research to innovative applications. Ballarin, L., Rinkevich, B. & Hobmayer, B. (eds.). Basel: MDPI, p. 65-93 29 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Epidermal changes during tail regeneration in the Bahamas lancelet, Asymmetron lucayanum (Cephalochordata)
Holland, N. D. & Somorjai, I. M. L., 1 Jul 2022, In: Acta Zoologica. 103, 3, p. 297-306 10 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Three-dimensional fine structure of fibroblasts and other mesodermally derived tissues in the dermis of adults of the Bahamas lancelet (Chordata, Cephalohordata), as seen by serial block-face scanning electron microscopy
Holland, N. D., Holland, L. Z. & Somorjai, I. M. L., 1 Oct 2022, In: Journal of Morphology. 283, 10, p. 1289-1298 10 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

A pan-metazoan concept for adult stem cells: the wobbling Penrose landscape
Rinkevich, B., Ballarin, L., Martinez, P., Somorjai, I. M. L., Ben-Hamo, O., Borisenko, I., Berezikov, E., Ereskovsky, A., Gazave, E., Khnykin, D., Manni, L., Petukhova, O., Rosner, A., Röttinger, E., Spagnuolo, A., Sugni, M., Tiozzo, S. & Hobmayer, B., 6 Oct 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Biological Reviews. Early View, 27 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Open access

JNK mediates differentiation, cell polarity and apoptosis during amphioxus development by regulating actin cytoskeleton dynamics and ERK signalling
Somorjai, I. M. L., Ehebauer, M. T., Escriva, H. & Garcia-Fernandez, J., 29 Oct 2021, In: Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 9, 24 p., 749806.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Tail regeneration in a cephalochordate, the Bahamas lancelet, Asymmetron lucayanum
Holland, N. D. & Somorjai, I. M. L., Feb 2021, In: Journal of Morphology. 282, 2, p. 217-229
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Beyond adult stem cells: dedifferentiation as a unifying mechanism underlying regeneration in invertebrate deuterostomes
Ferrario, C., Sugni, M., Somorjai, I. M. L. & Ballarin, L., 20 Oct 2020, In: Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 8, 25 p., 587320.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open access

Serial blockface SEM suggests that stem cells may participate in adult notochord growth in an invertebrate chordate, the Bahamas lancelet
Holland, N. D. & Somorjai, I. M. L., 17 Oct 2020, In: EvoDevo. 11, 15 p., 22.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

The sensory peripheral nervous system in the tail of a cephalochordate studied by serial blockface scanning electron microscopy (SBSEM)
Holland, N. & Somorjai, I. M. L., 15 Oct 2020, In: The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 528, 15, p. 2569-2582 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Light sheet microscopy with acoustic sample confinement
Yang, Z., Cole, K. L. H., Qiu, Y., Somorjai, I. M. L., Wijesinghe, P., Nylk, J., Cochran, S., Spalding, G. C., Lyons, D. A. & Dholakia, K., 8 Feb 2019, In: Nature Communications. 10, 8 p., 669.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

See more publications