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Dr. Rebecca Rolfe

Assistant Professor (Zoology)

 rolfere@tcd.ie

 


Biography

Dr. Rebecca Rolfe is a Physiologist specialising in Developmental Biology research that aims to advance the understanding of congenital conditions in which foetal movements are abnormal and apply information gained from developing tissues to design strategies for the repair and regeneration of biological systems. Rebecca's interests in morphological form and function are central in her research questions. Dr Rolfe began her studies in physiology, graduating from the Physiology Department in Trinity College Dublin (2008). Her interest in Developmental Biology began during her time studying her research masters in Biomedicine in the Institute of child health and Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London (2010), where she worked on neural and retinal development. She undertook her interdisciplinary doctoral research within the Developmental Biology and Bioengineering groups in Trinity College Dublin, examining the identification of genes that respond to mechanical stimulation, during skeletal development. She then continued this interest in how mechanical stimulation influences skeletal development during her Leverhulme funded postdoctoral research in the bioengineering department in Imperial College London, with research investigating the importance of fetal movements in spine development. Rebecca later returned to Trinity College Dublin as a research and teaching fellow (2016-2021), during this time began examining the plasticity of the developing musculoskeletal system, investigating how periods of induced mobility following paralysis might lead to improved outcomes for the development of the skeleton. Current research involves my expertise in mechanoregulation and applying it to identify the structural changes and biological mechanisms that drive normal embryonic tendon development. The aim of this highly innovative approach is to use this knowledge to enhance the maturation of tissue-engineered tendon constructs via nanoparticle gene delivery.

Research Tags

  BONE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT   Cell and tissue development   DEVELOPMENT   Developmental Biology   EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT
Building a Co-ordinated Musculoskeletal System: The Plasticity of the Developing Skeleton in Response to Muscle Contractions in, editor(s)Boris Kablar , Roles of Skeletal Muscle in Organ Development, Springer Nature , 2023, [Paula Murphy and Rebecca Rolfe], Book Chapter, IN_PRESS
Haley R. Dolton, Andrew L. Jackson, Robert Deaville, Jackie Hall , Graham Hall , Gavin McManus , Matthew W. Perkins , Rebecca A. Rolfe , Edward P. Snelling , Jonathan D. R. Houghton , David W. Sims Nicholas L. Payne, Regionally endothermic traits in planktivorous basking sharks Cetorhinus maximus, ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH, 51, 2023, p227 - 232, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Rolfe, RA. Shea, CA. and Murphy P., Geometric analysis of chondrogenic self-organisation of embryonic limb bud cells in micromass culture., Cell and Tissue Research , 2022, Notes: [doi: 10.1007/s00441-021-03564-y], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Peterson BE., Rolfe RA., Kunselman A., Murphy P., and Szczesny S., Mechanical Stimulation via Muscle Activity is Necessary for the Maturation of Tendon Multiscale Mechanics during Embryonic Development, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology , 2021, p10.3389/fcell.2021.725563 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  URL
Rolfe, RA. Scanlon-O' Callaghan, D. and Murphy P., Joint development recovery on resumption of embryonic movement following paralysis, Disease Models and Mechanisms , 14, (4), 2021, phttps://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.04 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  URL
Bridglal DL, Boyle CJ, Rolfe RA, Nowlan NC., Quantifying the tolerance of chick hip joint development to temporary paralysis and the potential for recovery., Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists, 250, (3), 2021, p450-464 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  DOI
Shea C.A., Rolfe R.A., McNeill H., AND Murphy P., Localization of YAP activity in developing skeletal rudiments is responsive to mechanical stimulation, Developmental Dynamics , 249, (4), 2020, p523 - 542, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  Other
A. Levillain , R.A. Rolfe, Y. Huang, J.C. Iatridis and N.C. Nowlan , SHORT-TERM FOETAL IMMOBILITY TEMPORALLY AND PROGRESSIVELY AFFECTS CHICK SPINAL CURVATURE AND ANATOMY AND RIB DEVELOPMENT, eCELLS and MATERIALS, 37, 2019, p23 - 31, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
V Sotiriou, RA Rolfe, P Murphy, NC Nowlan, Effects of abnormal muscle forces on prenatal joint morphogenesis in mice, Jounral of Orthopaedic Research, 37, (11), 2019, p2287 - 2296, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  Other
Techniques for Studying Mechanobiology in, Mechanobiology in Health and Disease , Elsivier, 2018, [Rebecca A. Rolfe], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
  

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Benjamin E. Peterson, Maria L. Canonicco Castro, Helen McCarthy, Niamh Buckley, Nicholas Dunne ,Rebecca Rolfe, Paula Murphy, Spencer E. Szczesny, Structural Determinants of Tendon Function During Development and Their Sensitivity to Mechanical Stimulation, Acta Biomaterialia, 2024, Journal Article, SUBMITTED

  

Research Interests

Description Of Research Interests

Vertebral ligaments from development to adolescence Tendon morphogenesis: can we learn from the embryo and apply for regeneration Role of mechanical stimulation during musculoskeletal development? How do tissues derive their distinct identities? Can knowledge obtained from the embryo be applied to in vitro differentiation regimes to engineer tissue, and be applied to help improve knowledge of congenital abnormalities for medial application? Geometric morphometrics of vertebral shape: is biomechanical input required for correct spinal curvature? Plasticity of the developing musculoskeletal system: implications for orthopaedic health