James W. HicksAssociate Vice Chancellor for Research, Research Administration Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
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Research Interests |
Comparative Physiology of Circulation and Gas Exchange | |
| URLs | Group for Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology | |
| Edwards Lifescience Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technologies | ||
| UC Irvine Multidisciplinary Exercise Sciences Training Program | ||
| The Hicks Lab in Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology | ||
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Academic Distinctions |
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, November 2008 Honorary Doctorate (Doctor Scientiarum Honorais Causa, jr.scient.h.c.) Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, Sept 2012 |
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Research Abstract |
As a broadly trained, integrative physiologist, my research efforts are divided among five areas; understanding the mechanism(s), regulation and functional significance of intracardiac shunting in "lower vertebrates", investigating the factors that determine and regulate the cardiopulmonary response to elevated metabolism in "lower vertebrates", investigating the ontogeny of cardiovascular regulation, studying acclimatization to hypoxia and investigating the effects of gravity on the vertebrate cardiovascular system. My research focuses on vertebrates and spans several groups providing a unique evolutionary perspective into circulation and respiration and seeks to discover not only differences among organisms, but the unifying principles shared by diverse organisms. I believe that it is important to articulate the power of comparative and evolutionary physiology and to point out that these approaches are not mutually exclusive to biomedical sciences. Comparative physiology, at its most basic level, seeks to discover how animals work, and, most importantly, why animals work the way they do. These two seemingly straightforward questions have far-reaching implications and require a variety of investigative approaches. The comparative physiologist is challenged to determine the details of physiological mechanisms while simultaneously gaining insights into ultimate causation, i.e. the evolutionary or adaptive significance of a physiological process or trait. This manifold focus on proximal mechanism and ultimate causality requires that comparative and evolutionary physiologists bring to their investigations a diversity of analytical approaches and to effectively integrate molecular, cellular, organismal, morphological, biomechanical, biophysical, ecological and evolutionary information. |
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| Publications | Hicks, JW and Wang, T (2012) The functional significance of the reptilian heart: new insights into an old question: In: Ontogeny and Phylogeny of the Vertebrate Heart. ed. D. Sedema and T Wang, Springer Verlag-New York, pg. 207-227 | |
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Bagattoa, B, , Crossley, DA, Altimiras, J, Elsey, RM, Hicks, JW (2012) Physiological variability in yearling alligators: Clutch differences at rest and during activity. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology Volume 162, Issue 1, May 2012, Pages 44–50 |
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Eme J, Altimiras J, Hicks JW, Crossley DA 2nd. (2011) Hypoxic alligator embryos: chronic hypoxia, catecholamine levels and autonomic responses of in ovo alligators. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. Nov;160(3):412-20. Epub 2011 Jul 23 |
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| Eme, J, Hicks, JW and Crossley, DA (2011) Chronic hypoxic incubation blunts a cardiovascular reflex loop in embryonic American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). J. Comp Physiol B Volume 181, Number 7, 981-990, DOI: 10.1007/s00360-011-0569-z | ||
| Porteus, C., Hedrick, MS, Hicks, JW, Wang, T and Milsom, WK (2011) Time domains of the hypoxic ventilatory response in ectohermic vertebrates. J. Comp Physiol. B Volume 181, Number 3, 311-333, DOI: 10.1007/s00360-011-0554-6 | ||
| Eme, J., Crossley, DA and Hicks, JW (2011) Role of the left aortic arch and blood flows in embryonic American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). J. Comp Physiol B Volume 181, Number 3, 391-401, DOI: 10.1007/s00360-010-0494-6 | ||
| Crossley, DA, Jonker, SS, Hicks, JW and Thornberg, KL (2010) Maturation of the angiotensin II cardiovascular response in the embryonic white leghorn chicken (Gallus gallus). J. Comp Physiol. B Oct 180(7): 1057-1065 | ||
| Eme, J, Gwalthney, J, Owerkowicz, T, Blank, JM and Hicks JW (2010) Turning crocodilian hearts into bird hearts: Growth rates are similar of alligators with and without right -to-left shunts. J Exp. Biol Aug 1: 213 (Pt 15): 2673-2680 | ||
| Skovgaard, N, Hicks, JW and Wang T (2010) Oxygen uptake and transport in air-breathers. In: Respiratory Physiology of Vertebrates: life with and without oxygen. Ed. G. Nilsson, Cambridge University Press, pgs. 95-129 | ||
| Gabriel E. A. Gartner, James W. Hicks, Paulo R. Manzani, Denis V. Andrade, Augusto S. Abe, Tobias Wang, Stephen M. Secor, and Theodore Garland Jr.(2010) Phylogeny, Ecology, and Heart Position in Snakes Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 2010 83:1, 43-54 | ||
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Wang T, Hicks JW (2008) Changes in pulmonary blood flow do not affect gas exchange during intermittent ventilation in resting turtles. J Exp Biol. Dec;211(Pt 23):3759-63. |
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| Owerkowicz, Tomasz, Elsey, Ruth M., Hicks, James W. (2009) Atmospheric oxygen level affects growth trajectory, cardiopulmonary allometry and metabolic rate in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) J Exp Biol 2009 212: 1237-1247 | ||
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Torday JS, Rehan VK, Hicks JW, Wang T, Maina J, Weibel ER, Hsia CC, Sommer RJ, Perry SF. (2007) Deconvoluting lung evolution: from phenotypes to gene regulatory networks Integr Comp Biol. Oct;47(4):601-9. |
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| Eme, John, Gwalthney, June, Blank, Jason M., Owerkowicz, Tomasz, Barron, Gildardo, Hicks, James W. (2009) Surgical removal of right-to-left cardiac shunt in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) causes ventricular enlargement but does not alter apnoea or metabolism during diving J Exp Biol 212: 3553-3563 | ||
| Axelsson M, Dang Q, Pitsillides K, Munns S, Hicks J, Kassab GS. (2007) A novel, fully implantable, multichannel biotelemetry system for measurement of blood flow, pressure, ECG, and temperature. J Appl Physiol. 2007 Mar;102(3):1220-8. | ||
| Giuseppe A, Rourke, BC, Andersen, JB, Fu, J, Kim, JH, Bennett, AF, Hicks, JW and Piomelli, D (2006) Postprandial increase of oleoylethanolamide mobilization in small intestine of the Burmese python (Python molurus) Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 290: R1407-R1412 | ||
| L.K. Hartzler, , S.L. Munns, A.F. Bennett and J.W. Hicks (2006) Recovery from an activity-induced metabolic acidosis in the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis Comp Biochem and Physiol - Part A: Mol & Int Physiol Volume 143, Issue 3 , Pages 368-374 | ||
| Hartzler, L. K., Munns, S. L., Bennett, A. F., Hicks, J. W. (2006)Metabolic and blood gas dependence on digestive state in the Savannah monitor lizard Varanus exanthematicus: an assessment of the alkaline tide J Exp Biol 209: 1052-1057. | ||
| Britt, E. J., Hicks, J. W., Bennett, A. F. (2006) The energetic consequences of dietary specialization in populations of the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans J Exp Biol 209: 3164-3169 | ||
| Hicks, JW and Munis, JR (2005) The siphon controversy counterpoint: the brain need not be "baffling" Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 289: R629-R632 | ||
| Andersen, JB, Rourke, B, Caiozzo, V, Bennett, AF and Hicks, JW (2005) Postprandial cardiac hypertrophy in pythons, Nature, 434, 37 - 38 (03 Mar 2005) | ||
| Wang, T., Andersen, J. B. and Hicks, J. W. (2005). Effects of digestion on the respiratory and cardiovascular physiology of amphibians and reptiles. In Physiological and Ecological Adaptations to Feeding in Vertebrates (ed. J. M. Starck and T. Wang), pp. 279-303. Enfield, NH, USA: Science?Publishers | ||
| Munns, SL., Hartzler, LK, Bennett, AF, and Hicks, JW (2005)Terrestrial locomotion does not constrain venous return in the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis J. Exp. Biol. 2005 208: 3331-3339. | ||
| McCue, M. D., A. F. Bennett, and J. W. Hicks.(2005). The effect of meal composition on specific dynamic action in Burmese Pythons (Python molurus) . Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 78: 182-192. | ||
| Munns, SL, Hartzler, LK, Bennett, AF, Hicks, JW (2004) Elevated intra-abdominal pressure limits venous return during exercise in Varanus exanthematicus J Exp Biol 207, 4111-4120 | ||
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Owerkowicz, T., Farmer, C., Hicks, J.W. and Branierd, B. (1999) Gular pumping contributes to lung ventilation in monitor lizards. Science V284 N5420 1661- 1663. |
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| Hicks, JW and Munis, JR (2005) The siphon controversy counterpoint: the brain need not be "baffling" Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 289: R629-R632 | ||
| Hicks JW, Wang T.(2004) Hypometabolism in reptiles: behavioural and physiological mechanisms that reduce aerobic demands.Respir Physiol Neurobiol. Aug 12;141(3):261-71: | ||
| Crossley DA 2nd, Hicks JW, Altimiras J. (2003) Ontogeny of baroreflex control in the American alligator Alligator mississippiensis. J. Exp. Biol., Aug;206(Pt 16):2895-902 | ||
| Grants | Collaborative Research: LiT: Effects of environmental oxygen on growth and physiological performance in the American alligator: A case study in experimental paleophysiology. National Science Foundation, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems 2009-2012 | |
| Collaborative Research: The Diving Physiology of Chelonians; A comparative study of three turtle species. National Science Foundation, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems 2012-15 | ||
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Professional Societies |
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology American Physiological Society Society for Experimental Biology |
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| Other Experience |
Chair Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section, American Physiological Society 2004—2007 |
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Editor-in-Chief Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 2001—2009 |
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Councillor American Physiological Society 2006—2009 |
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Chair Division of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, SICB 2010—2012 |
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Chair-Communications Committee American Physiological Society 2010—2013 |
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| Graduate Programs |
Comparative Physiology |
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| Research Center | ||
| Link to this profile | http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2158 | |
| Last updated | 03/11/2013 | |