Dr. Betts is internationally recognized for his contributions to our current understanding of early embryo development and as one of the first research groups to generate and characterize numerous canine embryonic stem cell lines and mesenchymal stromal cells from umbilical cord blood of foals.

He received degrees from the University of Western Ontario (BSc, MSc), and the University of Guelph (PhD).  Following a post-doctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University Dr. Betts joined the faculty at the Ontario Veterinary College as an Assistant Professor in 2001. Dr. Betts’ research, which has resulted in 50 peer-reviewed publications, has focused on characterizing and understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of early mammalian development using cattle embryos as his main experimental model. Notably, his studies on telomere length regulation presented evidence of a telomere-lengthening event during the first week of embryogenesis and that some healthy and fertile cloned animals and their offspring exhibit variant telomere lengths compared to their reproductively bred counterparts suggesting that epigenetic alterations could be passed through the germ line. Dr. Betts was one of the first to apply RNA interference technology to study gene function in early mammalian embryos. Using live cell imaging and embryo microinjections his lab revealed that the stress adaptor protein p66Shc is mechanistically involved in the ROS signaling pathway of permanent embryo arrest. Applying global gene expression analyses to stably transfected cell lines, his research has discovered alternative function(s) for the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT) that changes the cell state towards a progenitor stem cell-like condition. This information explains the utility of ectopically expressed TERT as a potent reprogramming factor in the production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

In November 2008, he moved his lab to Western University where his research is focused on characterizing the role of various telomerase splice variants in pluripotency maintenance and induction.  Dr. Betts has a strong interest in developing clinically relevant animal models for stem cell – based transplantation therapies.

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