Dr Kristen Barratt ~ Research Fellow, Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)

Dr Barratt is passionate about cell biology and elucidating the underlying mechanisms of disease.

After completing her Bachelor of Biological Science (2009, University of Western Sydney) and Honours degree (2010) in embryology at the Children’s Medical Research Institute (Westmead, UWS) Kristen relocated to Canberra to undertake her Ph.D. in the Early Mammalian Development Laboratory with Professor Ruth Arkell at the Australian National University (ANU). Durng her PhD she worked on elucidating the non-coding regulatory mechanisms behind Zic2-associated Holoprosencephaly (HPE), discovered an association between HPE and left-right axis defects/Heterotaxy and was awarded the Wood-Whelan Research Fellowship and Company of Biologists (Development) Travelling Fellowship (2013).

Post-PhD, Dr Barratt continued her research as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (ANU) where she demonstrated that elevated canonical WNT signalling causes L-R axis defects and Heterotaxy for the first time, and also generated the first genetic mouse model of maternal type 2 diabetes and diabetic embryopathy. Her work on canonical WNT signalling earnt her The Verne Chapman Young Scientist Award (2020, Internantional Mammalian Genome Society).

In 2023 Dr Barratt moved to Townsville and began working with Professor Jon Golledge and the QRCPVD to investigate the role of canonical WNT signalling in abdominal aortic aneurysms and vascular disease.  

Concurrently, Dr Barratt participates in extensive teaching, educating students from a high school level all the way through to post-graduate students, and is an advocate for Women and Girls in STEMM fields.

Research Disciplines

• Medical physiology (3208)
• Cardiovascular medicine and haematology (3201)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding knowledge (2801)
• Clinical health (2001)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Golledge J, Thanigaimani S, Barratt K and Fadini G (in press) Recent developments in targets for ischemic foot disease. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews,
• Barratt K, Drover K, Thomas Z and Arkell R (2022) Patterning of the antero?ventral mammalian brain: Lessons from holoprosencephaly comparative biology in man and mouse. WIREs Mechanisms of Disease, 14 (4).
• Ali R, Bellchambers H, Warr N, Ahmed J, Barratt K, Neill K, Diamand K and Arkell R (2021) WNT-responsive SUMOylation of ZIC5 promotes murine neural crest cell development, having multiple effects on transcription. Journal of Cell Science, 134 (9).
• Bellchambers H, Barratt K, Diamand K and Arkell R (2021) SUMOylation Potentiates ZIC Protein Activity to Influence Murine Neural Crest Cell Specification. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22.
• Barratt K, Diamand K and Arkell R (2018) Identification of reference genes suitable for RT-qPCR studies of murine gastrulation and patterning. Mammalian Genome, 29. pp. 656-662
• Houtmeyers R, Tchouate Gainkam O, Glanville-Jones H, Van den Bosch B, Chappell A, Barratt K, Souopgui J, Tejpar S and Arkell R (2016) Zic2mutation causes holoprosencephaly via disruption of NODAL signalling. Human Molecular Genetics, 25 (18). pp. 3946-3959

Book Chapters

• Barratt K and Arkell R (2018) ZIC2 in Holoprosencephaly. In: Zic family: Evolution, Development and Disease. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 1046. Springer, Singapore, pp. 269-299