Jake Leyhr
Postdoctoral Associate
Duke University
I am a Postdoctoral Associate in the Sherwood Lab at Duke University (NC, USA) studying cell invasion in nematode worms. Before that, I completed my PhD at Uppsala University (Sweden), where I examined the role and regulation of key genes patterning the cartilage, bone, and connective tissues of zebrafish.
Education
Uppsala University
Ph.D. in Organismal Biology (Evolutionary Developmental Biology)
Advisor: Dr. Tatjana Haitina
Uppsala University
MSc in Evolutionary Biology
University of Exeter
BSc in Biological Sciences
Publications
Developmental Biology Advances 2026
Ossification of the pectoral fin of Glyptolepis groenlandica: implications for the evolution of the lungfish appendicular skeleton
Branigan MK, Bijl S, Ahlberg PE, Tafforeau P, Mansuit R, Leyhr J, Clement AM, Stundl J, Dutel H, Hirasawa T, Haitina T, Sanchez S
G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics 2026
WormTagDB: A Systematic Survey of Endogenously Tagged Proteins in C. elegans and Roadmap Towards the Tagged Proteome
Leyhr J, Chi Q, Zeng L, Li X, Cao B, Shen EZ, Zou W, Sherwood DR
Current Biology 2026
Specialized high-capacity mitochondria fuel cell invasion
Kenny-Ganzert IW*, Basta LP*, Wang L, Chi Q, Kelley LC, Su CY, Leyhr J, Morton KS, Meyer JN, Sherwood DR
Journal of Morphology 2025
Investigating the Morphogenesis and Replacement of Lamprey Toothlets Using Synchrotron Imaging
Grohganz M, Leyhr J, Johanson Z, Haitina T, Sanchez S, Dollman K, Stundl J, Bronner ME, Fraser GJ, Donoghue PCJ
Science Advances 2025
Acquisition of neural crest promoted thyroid evolution from chordate endostyle
Stundl J, Rajan ARD, Urrutia HA, Leyhr J, Stundlova J, Solovieva T, Haitina T, Sanchez S, Musilova Z, Martik ML, Bronner ME
Nature Communications 2025
Nkx2.7 is a conserved regulator of craniofacial development
Ford C, De Sena-Tomás C, Wun TTR, Aleman AG, Rangaswamy U, Leyhr J, Nuñez MI, Gao CZ, Nim HT, See M, Coppola U, Waxman JS, Ramialison M, Haitina T, Smeeton J, Sanges R, Targoff KL
Journal of Anatomy 2025
Hidden in plain sight: does the first intercostal ligament help to stabilize the Weberian apparatus?
Leyhr J, Haitina T, Bird NC
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2024
The sensory shark: high-quality morphological, genomic and transcriptomic data for the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula reveal the molecular bases of sensory organ evolution in jawed vertebrates
Mayeur H, Leyhr J, Mulley J, Leurs N, Michel L, Sharma K, Lagadec R, Aury JM, Osborne OG, Mulhair P, Poulain J, Mangenot S, Mead D, Smith M, Corton C, Oliver K, Skelton J, Betteridge E, Dolucan J, Dudchenko O, Omer AD, Weisz D, Lieberman-Aiden E, McCarthy S, Sims Y, Torrance J, Tracey A, Howe K, Baril T, Hayward A, Martinand-Mari C, Sanchez S, Haitina T, Martin K, Korsching SI, Mazan S, Debiais-Thibaud M
STAR Protocols 2024
Protocol for fluorescent live-cell staining of tardigrades
Harry CJ, Hibshman JD, Damatac A, Davidson PL, Estermann MA, Flores-Flores M, Holmes CM, Lázaro J, Legere EA, Leyhr J, Thendral SB, Vincent BA, Goldstein B
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023
Enhanced contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography for describing skeleton-associated soft tissue defects in zebrafish mutants
Leyhr J, Sanchez S, Dollman KN, Tafforeau P, Haitina T
eLife 2022
A novel cis-regulatory element drives early expression of Nkx3.2 in the gnathostome primary jaw joint
Leyhr J*, Waldmann L*, Filipek-Górniok B, Zhang H, Allalou A, Haitina T
Developmental Dynamics 2022
Cover feature
The Role of Gdf5 in the Development of the Zebrafish Fin Endoskeleton
Waldmann L*, Leyhr J*, Zhang H, Allalou A, Öhman-Mägi C, Haitina T
PLoS ONE 2021
The Broad Role of Nkx3.2 in the Development of the Zebrafish Axial Skeleton
Waldmann L*, Leyhr J*, Zhang H, Öhman-Mägi C, Allalou A, Haitina T
BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018
Embryonic expression patterns and phylogenetic analysis of panarthropod sox genes: Insight into nervous system development, segmentation and gonadogenesis
Janssen R, Andersson E, Betnér E, Bijl S, Fowler W, Höök L, Leyhr J, Landström E, Mannelqvist A, Panara V, Smith K, Tiemann S