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James W. Hicks

Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences

Ph.D., School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, 1984, Biomedical Sciences

Phone: (949) 824-6386
Fax: (949) 824-2181
Email: jhicks@uci.edu

University of California
5409 BS II
Mail Code: 2525
Irvine, CA 92697

picture of James W. Hicks

Research
Interests
Comparative Physiology of Circulation and Gas Exchange
   
URL Lab Home Page
   
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, including amphibians, reptiles and humans. My laboratory provides 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.
   
Publications Axelsson M, Dang Q, Pitsillides K, Munns S, Hicks J, Kassab GS. 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 Astarita, Bryan C. Rourke, Johnnie B. Andersen, Jin Fu, Janet H. Kim, Albert F. Bennett, James W. Hicks, and Daniele Piomelli
Postprandial increase of oleoylethanolamide mobilization in small intestine of the Burmese python (Python molurus)
Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 290: R1407-R1412, 2006.
   
  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
   
  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
   
  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.
   
Professional
Societies
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
American Physiological Society
Society for Experimental Biology
   
Other Experience Chair
Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section, American Physiological Society 2004—2007

Editor-in-Chief
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 2001—pres

Councillor
American Physiological Society 2006—2009

Graduate Programs Comparative Physiology

   
Link to this profile http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2158
   
Last updated 05/31/2009