Nicolas Malagon
Assistant Professor of Biology
Research
https://youtu.be/deEPx-vL4Hg?si=PyMGJx6HW1S_WPxV
Areas of Teaching
Introductory Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics
Education
Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Toronto (2019); Post-doctoral Fellow, Yale University (2017); PhD, University of Toronto (2013); BSc Biology, National University of Colombia (2005)
Work in Detail
Teaching
BIOL 1020 - The Genetic Revolution
BIOL 2100 - Genetics of Eukaryotes and Bacteria
BIOL 2300 - Cell Biology
BIOL 3400 - Developmental Biology
BIOL 3900 - Cancer Biology
Research
Recent Publications
- Doucet, D.; Friesen, N.; Derksen, N.; Mulder, M.; Ingram, S.; Malagon, JN (2023). Homeotic transformation as a tool to study rapid diversification in Drosophila sex combs. microPublication Biology.
- Held, L, Jr. , Malagon JN, and Shin J. (2022). Cap 'n' collar helps EGFR to align t-rows. Drosophila Information Service. Vol 105, pp 25-32.
- Doerksen, A.; Mulder, M.; Ingram, S.; Nelson, D.; Defehr, J.; Reimer, E.; Atallah, J.; Malagon, JN (2022). Dynamics of changes in apical cell area during sex comb rotation in Drosophila melanogaster. microPublication Biology. doi.org/10.17912/micropub.biology.000668.
- Chernet, DY.; Klassen, L.; Goertzen, S.; Malagon, JN (2022). Live imaging and quantification of circulating potentially metastatic tumor cells in early pupal stage of Drosophila melanogaster. microPublication Biology. "https://doi.org/10.17912/micropub.biology.000588.
- Malagon JN & Larsen, E. (2020). Chapter four- Developmental Plasticity Induced by Either External or Internal Environment Co-opts Ancient Regulatory Networks. Guex, J., Torday, B., Miller Jr., William B. (Eds). Morphogenesis, Environmental Stress and Reverse Evolution. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47279-5_6
- Malagon, J., Ho, E., Ahuja, A., Singh, R., Larsen, E. (2018). Rotation of sex comb in Drosophila melanogaster requires precise and coordinated spatio-temporal dynamics from forces generated by epithelial cells. PLOS Computational Biology. Vol. 14 no. 10 pp. e1006455
Discussed in the Node: http://thenode.biologists.com/sex-combs-in-motion-using-computer-simulations-and-mathematical-modeling-to-study-the-evolution-of-morphogenesis/research/ - Malagon, J., Ahuja, A., Sivapatham, G., Hung, J., Lee, J., Muñoz, S., Atallah, J., Singh, R., and Larsen, E. (2014). Evolution of Drosophila sex comb length illustrates the inextricable interplay between selection and variation. PNAS. September 30, vol. 111 no. 39, pp. E4103–E4109
Summary in PNAS: http://www.pnas.org/content/111/39/14011
- Ma, X., Lu, J., Dong, Y., Li Daming., Malagon, J. & Xu, T. (2017). PP6 Disruption Synergizes with Oncogenic Ras to Promote JNK- dependent Tumor Growth and Invasion. Cell Reports. Vol. 19, pp. 2657–2664.
- Malagon, J. & Larsen, E. (2015). Chapter Four–Heredity and Self-Organization: Partners in the Generation and Evolution of Phenotypes. International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology. vol. 315, pp.153–181
- Malagon, J. & Larsen, E. (2016). E. Signs of complexity in epithelial morphogenesis. Acta Biológica Colombiana. vol. 21, no. 3, pp.495-500
- Malagon, J. & Waleed, K. (2016). Evolution of allometric changes in fruit fly legs: a developmentally entrenched story. Acta Biológica Colombiana. vol.21 no. 3, pp.509-519
- Malagon, J. (2006). In pursuit of evolutionary variation laws: Scale-free Networks. Acta Biológica Colombiana. vol. 11 no. 1
- Betancourt, A., Maldonado, A., Maldonado, R., A., Camargo, A., Guzman, A., Annicchiarico, I., Arroyave, J., Malagon, J., Pardo L., Perez H., Ruiz A., Eljach, L., Camacho, M. (2002). Image Inversion Effect on Faces. Acta Biológica Colombiana. vol.7 no. 2
Publications as supervisor of undergraduate research projects
- Benthem, N. Van & Malagon, J N. Conservation, Climate Change, and Interdisciplinary Collaborations. Can. J. Undergrad. Res. 7, 31–37 (2023). https://cjur.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CJUR_7-3_Benthem_Malagon.pdf
This article was the cover of this journal edition: https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/cjur/article/view/195512
- Waleed, K. & Malagon, J. (2016). Evolution of allometric changes in fruit fly legs: a developmentally entrenched story. Acta Biológica Colombiana.vol.21no. 3, pp. 509-519
- Kahn, T., Zhang, L., Malagon, J. (2013). Sex comb rotation in Drosophila melanogaster: changes in tissue length and cell extrusion. Journal of Undergraduate Life Science. vol. 7, pp. 20-26
- Long, Y., Zhang, L., Malagon, J. (2013). Changes in apical cell area and shape during sex comb rotation in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Undergraduate Life Science. vol. 7, pp. 26-35
- Wang, M., Tan, J., Malagon, J. (2012). Cellular dynamics involved in the narrowing of the first tarsal segment of the first leg of Drosophila melanogaster females used as a control for male sex comb rearrangements. Journal of Undergraduate Life Science. vol. 6, pp. 42-46
- Lee, J., Malagon J., & Larsen, E. (2011). The Case of Fly Sex Combs: Using a Model Organism to Infer Mechanisms of Morphological Evolution. Journal of Undergraduate Life Science. vol. 5, pp. 28-31
Applied
What are you currently researching and working on?
My research program investigates the process by which organisms grow and develop and explore its implications for cancer progression.
In particular, I am interested in understanding the relationship between physics and biology. To do so, I analyze cell movement during morphogenesis using microscopy techniques and computational tools.