Dr Sue Mei Lim, BComm/BSc (Hons), PhD

Embryonic stem cell differentiation lab

Research Interests

Mouse embryonic stem cells, Mixl1, Mesendoderm specification, Pancreatic endoderm differentiation.

Project summary

Currently my research interests are focused on the efficient production of pancreatic progenitor cells, using a mouse reporter Pdx1 GFP/w ES cell line. The experiments will address:
1. Methods of differentiation for the proliferation and branching morphogenesis of Pdx1+ pancreatic progenitors.
2. Analysis of factors known to regulate and influence the differentiation of Pdx1+ progenitors into exocrine and endocrine cell lineages and to evaluate their in vivo functional potential.
It is hoped that these studies will assist in the understanding of pancreatic cell fate in the mammalian embryo, and further efforts towards discovering therapeutic applications in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Select Publications

Elliott DA., Braam SR., Koutsis K., Ng ES., Jenny R., Lagerqvist EL., Biben C., Hatzistavrou T., Hirst CE, Yu QC., Skelton RJP., Oostwaard DW., Lim SM., Khammy, O., Li XL., Hawes SM., Davis RP., Goulburn AL., Passier R., Prall OWJ., Haynes JM., Pouton CW., Kaye DM., Mummery CL., Elefanty AG., Stanley EG. (2011) NKX2.5GFP/w hESCs facilitate isolation of human cardiac progenitors and cardiomyocytes. Nature Methods. In press.

Goulburn AL., Alden D., Davis RP., Micallef SJ., Ng ES., Yu QC., Lim SM., Soh CL., Elliott DA., Hatzistavrou T., Bourke J., Watmuff B., Lang R., Haynes JM., Pouton CW., Giudice A., Trounson AO., Anderson SA., Stanley EG., Elefanty AG. (2010) A targeted NKX2.1 human embryonic stem cell reporter line enables identification of human basal forebrain derivatives. Stem Cells 29(3), 462-73.

Hirst CE., Lim SM., Pereira L., Mayberry RA., Stanley EG., Elefanty AG. (2010) Expression from a βgeo gene trap in the Slain1 gene locus is predominantly associated with the developing nervous system. International Journal of Developmental Biology 54(8-9), 1383-8.

Lim, S. M., Pereira, L., Wong, M. S., Hirst, C. E., Van Vranken, B. E., Pick, M., Trounson, A., Elefanty, A. G. Stanley, E. G. (2009). Enforced expression of Mixl1 during mouse ES cell differentiation suppresses hematopoietic mesoderm and promotes endoderm formation. Stem Cells. 27: 363-374.

Costa, M., Dottori, M., Sourris, K., Jamshidi, P., Hatzistavrou, T., Davis, R., Azzola, L., Jackson, S., Lim, S. M., Pera, M., Elefanty, A. G. Stanley, E. G. (2007). A method for genetic modification of human embryonic stem cells using electroporation. Nat. Protocols. 2: 792-796.