Dr Caitlin Mcqueen
Lecturer
Biography
Dr Caitlin McQueen is a developmental biologist and Lecturer in Biosciences who leads the MSc Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine programme. Her research investigates transcriptional regulation and non-coding RNA function during skeletal muscle differentiation and limb patterning, combining wet-lab embryology with RNA-Seq and bioinformatic analysis. She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate bioscience modules, supervises laboratory and research projects, and runs an independent programme on non-coding RNAs with collaborative links to external research partners.
Teaching and Supervision
Caitlin is the programme lead for the MSc Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine course and teaches a range of modules across the MSc Biotechnology and MSc Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine courses at Chester including: - Applied Molecular Biology - Research and Analytical Skills - In Vitro and In Vivo Models in Medicine - Tissue Formation, Development and Regeneration - Emerging Molecular Therapies in Medicine - Modelling Molecular Interactions - Supervision of Research Dissertation students Dr McQueen adopts a student-centred, research-led approach that blends hands-on laboratory training with active, problem-based learning. She prioritises authentic assessment and scaffolded feedback so students build practical skills alongside critical thinking and experimental design. Her sessions mix short lectures, small-group discussion and practical workshops, with clear learning outcomes, frequent formative checks and constructive, timely feedback to support progression. Inclusive and supportive as a supervisor, she focuses on employability by embedding real-world tasks and interdisciplinary collaboration into modules and dissertations.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Caitlin’s research interests are focused within the field of developmental biology and embryology, with particular interest in regulation of muscle differentiation and patterning, limb development and the regulation of developmental timing. Caitlin completed her undergraduate at the University of York in 2014. She remained at York whilst completing her thesis entitled “Investigating the coordinated transcriptional networks regulating Xenopus myogenesis” receiving her doctorate in 2018. Within this project, she utilised in vivo spatial analyses such as in situ hybridisation alongside high-throughput transcriptomic analyses (RNA-Seq, custom microarrays) to investigate novel roles of RNA Polymerase III isoforms during development and their regulation of both RNA Polymerase III transcripts and muscle-related gene expression (McQueen & Pownall, 2017; McQueen et al., 2019). Caitlin then moved to the University of Sheffield to study limb development and patterning (McQueen & Towers, 2020). Here she carried out research for a number of projects, including investigating the role of Shh signalling in regulating the specification of evolutionarily conserved flight feathers during development (Busby et al., 2020) , detailed 3D mapping of limb neuromuscular networks and more recently, developed an ex vivo culture system to investigate the ability of limb cells to maintain developmental timing in the absence of cues from the wider embryo. This work established a transient role for Fgf signalling in establishing limb distal patterning events but revealed that it is dispensable for its maintenance leading to the most recent co-first authorship publication (Sedas Perez et al., 2023). Caitlin is currently running projects encompassing both of these topics, investigating the role of RNA Polymerase III transcription in driving development of the vertebrate limb and musculoskeletal system. Her work in developmental biology has also applied well to investigation of germ layer specification during embryogenesis.