David Hicks
Fellowship 2015
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David Hicks is an INSERM full professor at the Institute for Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences (INCI) in Strasbourg. He is trained in Zoology from the University of Bristol, UK, and a PhD in Neurobiology from the University of London obtained in 1981. He started his research carrier in North America, first in the Dept. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of B.C., Vancouver Canada, then in the Laboratory of Neurobiology headed by Prof. Torsten Wiesel, Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine 1981, at the Rockefeller University, New York USA. Since his postdoctoral studies David has always been interested in cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying differentiation, function and survival of the retina. His early work identified a novel protein involved in hereditary blindness, before focusing on the role of a family of neuroactive proteins, the “fibroblast growth factors (FGFs)”, in retinal pathophysiology. Recruited by INSERM in 1988, he subsequently moved to Strasbourg to help build up a new laboratory mixing basic and clinical research on vision. He is currently co-director of the group “Rhythms, Life and Death in the Retina” at INCI, working on the role of the circadian clock in retinal pathophysiology, and the central role of cones in vision.
Human blinding diseases: breaking new ground using a novel small mammal model to analyze cone function and survival
USIAS Fellows : Franck Baas, David Hicks and Maarten Kamermans
Loss of central vision in humans leads to severe handicap; age-related macular degeneration (AMD) represents the 3rd cause of blindness worldwide. The principal cause of sight loss is cone degeneration: cones are concentrated within the macula and provide high acuity chromatic vision. However, detailed study of cone gene expression, structure and function has been greatly hampered by their paucity in mouse models (1-3% cones). The diurnal rodent Arvicanthis ansorgei possesses ~33% cones organised in rows, greatly facilitating their analysis. Arvicanthis are highly resistant to drug- and light-induced retinal toxicity, suggesting the existence of endogenous neuroprotective mechanisms. Using next generation sequencing techniques, the project aims to sequence the Arvicanthis whole genome, and to perform gene expression profiling on cones isolated by laser capture micro-dissection (LCM). Sequence data will be validated by quantitative PCR, and roles of candidate genes will be explored by shRNA knockdown or preparation of knockout mice.
