Rate My Professor Michael Meier

Dr. Michael Meier is a Research Fellow in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. He earned his PhD in 2018 from the University of Otago, where his doctoral research in the Horsfield laboratory examined the role of cohesin and CTCF during zygotic genome activation using the zebrafish model. Following his PhD, Meier joined Dr. Megan Wilson's group in the Department of Anatomy to investigate whole-body regeneration in the tunicate model Botrylloides diegensis, utilizing single-cell genomics and CRISPR gene tagging approaches. In 2022, he returned to the Horsfield laboratory to explore the distinct roles of cohesin subunits STAG2 and Rad21 during zebrafish tailbud development through single-cell technologies. His research contributes to advancing knowledge in developmental biology, gene regulation, and regenerative processes.

Currently collaborating with Dr. Megan Wilson, Meier's work focuses on the function of cohesion in brain development, single-cell transcriptomic profiling of tissue specialization and blastogenesis, chordate whole-body regeneration, cohesin composition and dosage in early development, and genome-wide analysis of early vascular tunic repair and regeneration in Botrylloides diegensis. Key publications include 'Cohesin facilitates zygotic genome activation in zebrafish' (Development, 2018), 'Using RNA-Seq for Transcriptome Profiling of Botrylloides sp. Regeneration' (Methods in Molecular Biology, 2022), 'Cohesin composition and dosage independently affect early development in zebrafish' (Development, 2024), 'Genome-wide analysis of early vascular tunic repair and regeneration for Botrylloides diegensis reveals striking similarities to human wound healing' (Developmental Biology, 2024), and 'Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of the whole colony of Botrylloides diegensis: Insights into tissue specialization and blastogenesis' (Development, 2025). Meier has also presented conference contributions such as 'Function of cohesion in brain development' at the 41st International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research (2025) and 'Unravelling the secrets of chordate whole-body regeneration using single-cell sequencing' at the Genetics Otago Annual Symposium (2025). His publications appear in prestigious journals, highlighting his impact on understanding molecular mechanisms in development and regeneration.