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James J. Hickman, Ph.D.
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Education
- Ph.D. — M.I.T.
- M.S. — Pennsylvania State University
- B.A. — Pennsylvania State University
Affiliations
- Professor, Chemistry, Burnett College of Biomolecular Sciences, and Electrical Engineering
Research
I have been performing research in the field of nanoscience for over 15 years. In reality, nanoscience is a convergence of the areas of material science/ physics, surface chemistry and biology that has major applications in electronics/optics and in the field of biology from basic biology to drug discovery and genomics. The primary application for our research is the creation of new test-beds of functional cellular systems to investigate spinal cord repair, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's. The idea is that there are no assays that exist between single cells and whole animals at this point. If we can create functional assays based on small cellular units, this would allow the creation of high throughput analysis systems to screen for drug candidates based on cell-cell communication before beginning animal and human studies. Thus, a functional unit based on reflex arc would allow in vitro investigation of spinal injury and ALS while one based on the CA3 region of the hippocampus would allow investigation in an in vitro system of defects that arise in learning and memory in Alzheimer's. We are also applying these techniques to create a high-throughput cell based systems for drug discovery and proteomics based on pathway identification in single cells but also in these functional units. We are also a leading group in the area of using these hybrid systems for biological computation as well as fundamental investigations in neuroscience and cell biology.
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Engineered Neuronal Networks as Drug Screening Platforms
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Current Funding
- NIH: An In Vitro Model of Stem Cell Innervation of Myotubes
PI: Hickman, 6/2005 - 6/2010 - NIH: High Throughput Electrophysiology for Pathway Identification
PI: Hickman, 9/2006 - 9/2009 - MetroOrlando Economic Development Commission RF: NanoScience Technology Outreach Efforts
PI: Hickman, 11/2006 - 11/2008 - US Army Medical Research & Materiel Command: Human In Vitro Lung Model for Infectious Diseases
Co-PI: Hickman, 11/2006 - 2/2008 - NIH: Engineered neuronal networks for drug screening
Co-PI: Hickman, 4/2004 - 3/2009 - Florida Department of Health: Nanocolumn-supported nanoparticle array for early detection of lung cancer biomarkers
Co-PI: Hickman, 7/2007 - 6/2010 - Sciperio, Inc: Skin to Metal Project
PI: Hickman, 9/2006 - 9/2007
Selected Publications
2008
M. Das, N. Bhargava, A. Bhalkikar, J. F. Kang and J. J. Hickman, "Temporal Neurotransmitter Conditioning Restores the Functional Activity of Adult Spinal-Cord Neurons in Long-Term Culture" Experimental Neurology 209:171-180 (2008).
J. W. Rumsey, M. Das, J. F. Kang, R. Wagner, P. Molnar and J. J Hickman, "Tissue Engineering Intrafusal Fibers: Dose and Time Dependent Differentiation of Nuclear Bag Fibers in a Defined In Vitro System using Neuregulin 1-β-1" Biomaterials 29:994-1104 (2008).
J. Liu, J.W. Rumsey, P. Molnar, M. Das, C. Gregory, L. Riedel and J. J. Hickman, "Electrophysiological and Immunocytochemical Characterization of DRG Neurons on an Organosilane Surface in Serum Free Medium" In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology 44:162-168 (2008)
J. Rolland, K-S. Lee, A. Mahmood, L. Fluck, J. Duarte, I. Kaya, A. Santhanam, P. Meemon, S. Murali, O. Ilegbusi, P. Kupelian, A.M. Kachurin, W.L. Warren, P. Molnar, J.J. Hickman and P.K. Kolattukudy, Eds J.D. Westwood, R.S. Haluck, H.M.Hoffman, G.T. Mogel, R. Phillips, R.A. Robb, K.G. Vosburgh, "Collaborative Engineering: 3-D Optical Imaging and Gas Exchange Simulation of In-Vitro Alveolar Constructs", in Studies in Health Technolology Informatics 132:426-432 (2008).
A. Natarajan, C.J. Chun, J.J. Hickman and P. Molnar, "Growth and Electrophysiological Properties of Rat Embryonic Cardiomyocytes on Hydroxyl- and Carboxyl-Modified Surfaces," Journal of Biomaterials Science: Polymer Edition 19(10):1319-1331 (2008).
V. Thakore, A. Behal, P. Molnar, D.C. Leistritz, and J.J. Hickman, "Nanoscale Nonlinear Dynamic Characterization of the Neuron-Electrode Junction" J. Comput. Theor. Nanosci. 5(11):2164-2169 (2008).
2009
K. Varghese, M. Das, N. Bhargava, P. Molnar, M.S. Kindy and J.J. Hickman, "Regeneration and characterization of adult mouse hippocampal neurons in a defined in vitro system," Journal of Neuroscience Methods 177:51-50 (2009).
M. Ramalingam, P. Molnar, K. P. Rao and J. J. Hickman, "Biomaterial Surface patterning utilizing self assembled monolayers to control neuronal cell behavior", International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Review 2(2):104 - 134 (2009).
M. Das, J.W. Rumsey, N. Bhargava, C. Gregory, L. Riedel, J.F. Kang, J.J. Hickman, "Developing a Novel Serum-Free Cell Culture Model of Skeletal Muscle Differentiation by Systematically Studying the Role of Different Growth Factors in Myotube Formation" In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Animal In press.
J.W. Rumsey, M. Das, M. Stancescu, M. Bott, C. Fernandez-Valle and J.J. Hickman, "Node of Ranvier formation on motoneurons in vitro" Biomaterials 30:3567-3572 (2009).
M. Das, J.W. Rumsey, N. Bhargava, C. Gregory, L. Riedel, J.F. Kang, J.J. Hickman, "Developing a Novel Serum-Free Cell Culture Model of Skeletal Muscle Differentiation by Systematically Studying the Role of Different Growth Factors in Myotube Formation" (accepted to In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Animal).
T. Xu, P, Molnar, C. Gregory, M. Das, T. Boland and J.J. Hickman, "Electrophysiological characterization of embryonic hippocampal neurons cultured in 3D collagen hydrogel" (accepted to Biomaterials)
M. Das, J. W. Rumsey, N. Bhargava, M. Stancescu, J. J. Hickman, "Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering: An Improved Model Promoting Long Term Survival of Myotubes, Structural Development of E-C Coupling Apparatus and Neonatal Myosin Heavy Chain (MHC) Expression" (accepted to Biomaterials)
