Andreas Heyland

After completing his MSc at the University of Zurich (Switzerland) and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Banyuls‑sur‑Mer, France, Andreas Heyland moved to the University of Florida, where he earned his PhD in Zoology and Physiology in 2004. Following postdoctoral appointments at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (FL, USA) and the Friday Harbor Laboratories at the University of Washington (WA, USA), he joined the University of Guelph in 2008.

• B.Sc. - University of Zurich 1996
• M.Sc. - University of Zurich 1999
• Ph.D. - University of Florida 2004
• PDF - University of Florida/Swiss National Science Foundation 2004 - 2007

• Research themes int he Heylandlab:
  • Mechanisms underlying post-embryonic development in invertebrates
  • Life history theory
  • Comparative genomics and transcriptomics
  • Developmental and physiological consequences of environmental change
  • Biotechnology and Industry Collaborations

• O’Doherty K., Beijbom M., Allen-Vercoe E., Choudoir M., Silva D., Bonilla C., Debelius J., Elton S., Hauptmann A., Heyland A., Morar N., Skillings D., Sun Z., Wolf P., Beiko R., Ishaq S. (2026, January). Microbiome stewardship: definition and guiding principles for implementation. Sustainable Microbiology, 3, qvag028 - qvag028. doi:10.1093/sumbio/qvag028 (Published)
• Elias Taylor & Jonathan Allen. (2025). Thyroid hormones reversibly inhibit metamorphic development in ophiuroid larvae. Journal of Experimental Biology. (Published)
• Katherine, Leaper* & Andreas Heyland (2025). Developmental effects of sulfated thyroid hormones in sea urchin skeletogenesis suggest activation of non-canonical thyroid hormone signaling pathway. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 16, 1648899. (Published)
• Nolan, Patricia Kathleen*, Roszell, Jordan*, Robert Hanner, Andreas Heyland (2025). Implementation of Dunaliella tertiolecta and Desmodesmus communis in a photobioreactor prototype for treatment of wastewater in a recirculating aquaculture system. Current Research in Biotechnology, 100314. (Published)
• Taylor, E.* Heyland, A. (2024). Shared regulatory function of non-genomic thyroid hormone signaling in echinoderm skeletogenesis. Evolution & Development. (Published)
• Nolan, K.P.* Myler, E. Brimble, N. Grunspan, D. Heyland, A. Hanner, R.H. (2024). DNA at the whim of the water: Environmental DNA as a course-based undergraduate research experience. Genome. (Published)
• Jonusaite, Sima* Oulhen, Nathalie Izumi, Yasushi Furuse, Mikio Yamamoto, Takashi Sakamoto, Naoaki Wessel, Gary Heyland, Andreas. (2023). Identification of the genes encoding candidate septate junction components expressed during early development of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and evidence of a role for Mesh in the formation of the gut barrier. Developmental Biology, 495, 21--34. (Published)
• Elias Taylor*, Hannah Wynen*, Andreas Heyland. (2023). Thyroid hormone membrane receptor binding and transcriptional regulation in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Frontiers in Endocrinology. (Published)
• Wynen, Hannah* Taylor, Elias* Heyland, Andreas. (2022). Thyroid hormone-induced cell death in sea urchin metamorphic development. Journal of Experimental Biology, 225(23), jeb244560. (Published)
• Taylor, Elias* Heyland, Andreas. (2022). Evolution of non-genomic nuclear receptor function. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 539, 111468. (Published)
• Yiru Sheng*, R Ayesha Ali, Andreas Heyland. (2022). Comparative transcriptomics analysis pipeline for the meta-analysis of phylogenetically divergent datasets (CoRMAP). BMC bioinformatics. (Published)
• Peters, Hanna* Laberge, Frédéric Heyland, Andreas. (2022). Latent effect of larval rearing environment on post-metamorphic brain growth in an anuran amphibian. Zoology. (Published)
• Andreas Heyland, Jordan Roszel*l, Jeremy Chau*, Kevin Chai*, Andrew Eaton*, Kathleen Nolan*, Kyle Madden*, Wael H Ahmed. (2021). Mass transfer and flow characterization of novel algae-based nutrient removal system. Biotechnology for Biofuels 14 (1), 1-15. (Published)
• Hannah Wynen*, Andreas Heyland. (2021). Hormonal Regulation of Programmed Cell Death in Sea Urchin Metamorphosis. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. (Published)
• Lewis, V.* Laberge, F. Heyland, A. (2021). Transcriptomic signature of extinction learning in the brain of the fire-bellied toad, Bombina orientalis. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. (Published)
• Roszell, Jordan* and Chan, Po-Shun and Petri, Brian and Mao, Ted and Nolan, Kathleen* and Heyland, Andreas. (2021). Divergent responses of diverse microalgae commonly found in drinking water source water to UV-C treatment. Journal of Applied Phycology, 33, 1541--1557. (Published)
• Romanova, Daria Y Heyland, Andreas Sohn, Dosung Kohn, Andrea B Fasshauer, Dirk Varoqueaux, Frederique Moroz, Leonid L. (2020). Glycine as a signaling molecule and chemoattractant in Trichoplax (Placozoa): insights into the early evolution of neurotransmitters. NeuroReport. (Published)
• Lewis, Vern* Laberge, Frédéric Heyland, Andreas. (2020). Temporal Profile of Brain Gene Expression After Prey Catching Conditioning in an Anuran Amphibian. Frontiers in neuroscience. (Published)
• Schuh, Nicholas* W and Carrier, Tyler* J and Schrankel, Catherine S and Reitzel, Adam M and Heyland, Andreas and Rast, Jonathan P. (2020). Bacterial exposure mediates developmental plasticity and resistance to lethal Vibrio lentus infection in purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) larvae. Frontiers in Immunology, 10, 3014. (Published)
• Heyland, Andreas Bastien, Trysta* Halliwushka, Kelsey*. (2020). Transgenerational reproductive effects of two serotonin reuptake inhibitors after acute exposure in Daphnia magna embryos. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology. (Published)
• Tremblay, R.E., et al., High-throughput Environmental Assessment of Phytoplankton (SHAPE): A novel risk assessment approach to bridge the vitality/viability divide and grow the dead. PNAS, Under review.
• Lutek, K., et al., Sea urchin histamine receptor 1 regulates programmed cell death in larval Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Scientific Reports, Under Review.
• S., A., et al., Rudiment Resorption as a Response to Starvation during Larval Development in the Sea Urchin Species Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Biological Bulletin, 2018.
• Hodin, J., et al., I feel that! Fluid dynamics and sensory aspects of larval settlement across scales, in Evolutionary Ecology of Marine Invertebrate Larvae., T.J. Carrier and A.H. Reitzel, A., Editors. 2018, Oxford University Press.
• Taylor, E. and A. Heyland, Evolution of thyroid hormone signaling in animals: Non-genomic and genomic modes of action. Mol Cell Endocrinol, 2017.
• Potvin, C., et al., Stimulating a Canadian narrative for climate. FACETS, 2017. 2: p. 131.
• Fadl, A.E., et al., New biomarkers of post-settlement growth in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Heliyon, 2017.
• Carrier, T.J., A. Reitzel, and A. Heyland, eds. Evolutionary Ecology of Marine Invertebrate Larvae. 2017, Oxofrd University Press.
• Oulhen, N., et al., Regeneration in bipinnaria larvae of the bat star Patina miniata induces rapid and broad new gene expression. Mechanisms of Development, 2016. 142: p. 10-21.
• Liorti, A., T. Crease, and A. Heyland, Interactive effects of copper and calcium in Daphnia pulex. . Journal of Limnology, 2016.
• Hodin, J., K. Lutek, and A. Heyland, A newly identified left-right asymmetry in larval sea urchins. R Soc Open Sci, 2016. 3(8): p. 160139
• Betini, G.S., et al., Calcium interacts with temperature to influence Daphnia movement rates. R Soc Open Sci, 2016. 3(12): p. 160537.
• Giardini, J.L., N.D. Yan, and A. Heyland, Consequences of calcium decline on the embryogenesis and life history of Daphnia magna. J Exp Biol, 2015. 218(Pt 13): p. 2005-14.
• Heyland, A., J. Hodin, and C. Bishop, Manipulation of developing juvenile structures in purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) by morpholino injection into late stage larvae. PLoS One, 2014. 9(12): p. e113866.
• Heyland, A. and J. Hodin, A detailed staging scheme for late larval development in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus focused on readily-visible juvenile structures within the rudiment. BMC Dev Biol, 2014. 14: p. 22.
• Heyland, A., et al., Trichoplax adhaerens, an enigmatic basal metazoan with potential. Methods Mol Biol, 2014. 1128: p. 45-61.
• Bernards, M.A., Jr., et al., Spontaneous unraveling of hagfish slime thread skeins is mediated by a seawater-soluble protein adhesive. J Exp Biol, 2014. 217(Pt 8): p. 1263-8.
• van Bergeijk, S.A., et al., Uptake of Iodide in the Marine Haptophyte Isochrysis Sp (T. Iso) Driven by Iodide Oxidation. Journal of Phycology, 2013.49(4): p. 640-647.
• Nguyen, J. and A. Heyland, Histamine functions and distribution in gastrulation and skeletogenesis of the sea urchin S. purpuratus. Integr Comp Biol, 2013. 53.
• Miller, A.E. and A. Heyland, Iodine accumulation in sea urchin larvae is dependent on peroxide. J Exp Biol, 2013. 216(Pt 5): p. 915-26.​

• ZOO*3050 - Developmental Biology (Winter 2025)

• Reynald Tremblay (Research associate, Adjunct Faculty IB, UoG)
• Diego Sancho Kruppa (PhD)
• Sarah Locilento (MSc)
• Heather Counts (MSc)
• Yahia Hassan (MSc)
• Koya Basso (MSc)
• Evelyn Hoover (MSc)