Rate My Professor Nikita Woodhead

Nikita Woodhead serves as the Facility Animal Manager in the Department of Zoology, part of the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. In this capacity, she oversees the animal facility, ensuring the proper care and welfare of research animals, including colonies of Xenopus laevis used in various zoological and developmental biology studies. Her role is critical to the department's research operations, as evidenced by her listing as a technician on the official Department of Zoology staff page, with direct contact details provided for facility matters.

Woodhead holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Science (PGDipSci), and she is a Registered Veterinary Nurse. She is a co-author on the 2018 publication 'Sexual Dimorphism of Digit-Length Ratio in a Viviparous Lizard,' published in The Anatomical Record, with affiliation to the Department of Zoology, University of Otago. Her contributions to research support are widely recognized, as she is thanked in numerous peer-reviewed papers for excellent animal care. Examples include 'Unilateral loss of recql4 function in Xenopus laevis tadpoles leads to asymmetric morphological defects' (2025), 'Commensal skin bacteria interact with the innate immune system during Xenopus metamorphosis' (2025), 'Gene expression analysis of the Xenopus laevis early limb bud' (2022), 'Heat and water loss versus shelter: a dilemma in newborn southern grass skinks' (2020), 'Bacterial lipopolysaccharides can initiate regeneration of Xenopus laevis tail' (2021), and 'Noggin proteins are multifunctional extracellular regulators of left-right asymmetry in Xenopus' (2022). These acknowledgments highlight her ongoing impact in facilitating high-quality research in zoology and related fields at the University of Otago.