Janet Rossant, PhD, FRS, FRSC
Research Institute
Senior Scientist
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Chief of Research
Research Institute
University of Toronto
University Professor
Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Chair Positions
Paediatric Research
Lombard Insurance Chair
Phone: 416-813-7929
Fax: 416-813-5085
e-mail: janet.rossant@sickkids.ca
Alternate Contact: Ema Rosa
Alternate Phone: 416-813-6577
Alternate e-mail: ema.rosa@sickkids.ca
Brief Biography
Dr. Janet Rossant is a Senior Scientist in the Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program and Chief of Research at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. She is also a University Professor, University of Toronto, and Professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics, Obstetrics/Gynaecology and Paediatrics, University of Toronto. Her research interests centre on understanding the genetic control of normal and abnormal development in the early mouse embryo using both cellular and genetic manipulation techniques. Her interests in the early embryo have led to the discovery of a novel placental stem cell type, the trophoblast stem cell. She is Deputy Scientific Director of the Canadian Stem Cell Network and directs the Centre for Modelling Human Disease in Toronto, which is undertaking genome-wide mutagenesis in mice to develop new mouse models of human disease.
Dr. Rossant trained at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, United Kingdom and has been in Canada since 1977, first at Brock University and then at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, from 1985 to 2005. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Societies of London and Canada and a Distinguished Investigator of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In 2007, Dr. Rossant was awarded the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology and the Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology. In 2008, Dr. Rossant was elected as a Foreign Associate to the National Academy of Science.
Dr. Rossant is actively involved in the international developmental biology community. She was an editor of the journal Development for many years and was President of the Society for Developmental Biology in 1996/97. Rossant has also been involved in public issues related to developmental biology, most recently serving as Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research working group on stem cell research and as a member of the National Academies Stem Cell Guidelines Panel.
Areas of Specialty:
Dr. Rossant’s research program aims to understand the genetic underpinning of early lineage development in the mouse embryo in order to understand human embryo development and stem cell origins. Her particular interests lie in the specification of the lineages of the blastocyst, especially the trophoblast, the mechanisms of establishing the early axial patterning of the embryo and the signaling pathways involved in establishing and patterning the vasculature. Rossant also directs the Centre for Modeling Human Disease, which is a major collaborative effort to undertake genome-wide mutagenesis in the mouse.
Research Interests
- Stem cell research
- Molecular genetics
- Developmental biology
External Funding
- CIHR
- NCIC
- Stem Cell Network
- Genome Canada
Publications
Seguin CA, Draper JS, Nagy A, Rossant J. (2008). Establishment of endoderm progenitors by SOX transcription factor expression in human embryonic stem cells. Cell Stem Cell. 3:182-95.
Yamanaka Y, Tamplin OJ, Beckers A, Gossler A, Rossant J. (2007). Live imaging and genetic analysis of mouse notochord formation reveals regional morphogenetic mechanisms. Dev Cell. 6:884-96.
The International Stem Cell Initiative*, Adewumi O, et al. (2007) Characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines by the International Stem Cell Initiative. Nat Biotechnol. 25:803-16.
A detalied list of Dr. Rossant's publication is available on Pub Med.
Intellectual Property
- Novel Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (U.S. Patent No. 5,681,714) with Martin L. Breitman, Daniel J. Dumont, Terry P. Yamaguchi
- Trophoblast Stem Cell Line (Patent Application No. CA99/00867) with Tilo Kunath and Satoshi Tanaka