Leslie M. Hicks | |
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| Education |
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| Alma mater | |
| Awards |
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| Doctoral advisor | Neil L. Kelleher |
| Website | Group Page |
Leslie Hicks is an assistant professor of analytical chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work primarily focuses on the study of proteomics and protein post-translational modifications using mass spectrometry, and identifying biologically active peptides in plants.[1]
Career
editDr. Hicks earned her bachelor's degree at Marshall University in 2001, and went on to earn her doctorate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2005. She was an Assistant Member and Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center from 2006 to 2013, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis before beginning her current position as a professor at UNC.[2]
Research
editDr. Hicks' research focuses largely on the development and implementation of mass spectrometric methods for protein identification and characterization. Recent work in the Hicks Lab has focused primarily on two areas. The first is the study of post-translational modifications and their role in regulation and development. The second involves a novel analytical pipeline for the discovery and characterization of antimicrobial peptides.
Hicks' research in post-translational modifications typically employs bottom-up proteomics using label-free quantification. Much of this research involves the model organism C. reinhardtii, an important organism in biofuel research due to its tendency to accumulate triacylglycerols. The Hicks Lab has studied the phosphoproteome of C. reinhardtii in order to examine underlying biological processes[3]. Work has also been done to understand cell regulatory pathways, especially the algal analog of the mammalian TOR pathway[4]. To a similar end, Dr. Hicks' group has extended its work to examine how the reversible oxidation of thiols plays a role in signaling[5] and oxidative stress[6].
The increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance has produced a need for novel antimicrobial agents.[7] The Hicks Lab has investigated antimicrobial peptides as a potential source for new antibiotics. Recent work has involved the development of a comprehensive analytical approach using LC-MS for the identification of novel antimicrobial peptides from botanical[8], fungal[9], and bacterial sources.
Awards and Honors
edit- Robert J. Cotter New Investigator Award, 2018[10]
- NSF CAREER Award, 2015
- Arthur C. Neish Young Investigator Award, 2014[11]
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2002-2005
- NRPS/PKS Meeting – Outstanding Oral Presentation Award, 2005
- The Protein Society – Finn Wold Travel Award, 2004
- UIUC Chemistry Department Travel Grant, 2004
- MU Outstanding Graduating Chemistry Major, 2001
- MU Analytical Chemistry Student of the Year, 1999-2000
- NASA Undergraduate Research Scholarship, 1997-1998, 1998-1999, 1999-2000[12]
References
edit- ^ "Contributors to the emerging investigators issue". Analytical Methods. 7 (17): 6937–6946. 2015-08-20. doi:10.1039/C5AY90060C. ISSN 1759-9679.
- ^ sahl@email.unc.edu, Chemistry Webmaster. "Department of Chemistry Leslie Hicks". www.chem.unc.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ Wang, Hongxia; Gau, Brian; Slade, William O.; Juergens, Matthew; Li, Ping; Hicks, Leslie M. (September 2014). "The global phosphoproteome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii reveals complex organellar phosphorylation in the flagella and thylakoid membrane". Molecular & Cellular Proteomics: MCP. 13 (9): 2337–2353. doi:10.1074/mcp.M114.038281. ISSN 1535-9484. PMC 4159653. PMID 24917610.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Rodrigues, Silas P.; Alvarez, Sophie; Werth, Emily G.; Slade, William O.; Gau, Brian; Cahoon, Edgar B.; Hicks, Leslie M. (2015-08-20). "Multiplexing strategy for simultaneous detection of redox-, phospho- and total proteome – understanding TOR regulating pathways in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii". Analytical Methods. 7 (17): 7336–7344. doi:10.1039/C5AY00521C. ISSN 1759-9679.
- ^ McConnell, Evan W.; Werth, Emily G.; Hicks, Leslie M. (2018-07-01). "The phosphorylated redox proteome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: Revealing novel means for regulation of protein structure and function". Redox Biology. 17: 35–46. doi:10.1016/j.redox.2018.04.003. ISSN 2213-2317. PMC 6006682. PMID 29673699.
- ^ Slade, William O.; Werth, Emily G.; McConnell, Evan W.; Alvarez, Sophie; Hicks, Leslie M. (2015-04-01). "Quantifying Reversible Oxidation of Protein Thiols in Photosynthetic Organisms". Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. 26 (4): 631–640. doi:10.1007/s13361-014-1073-y. ISSN 1044-0305. PMID 25698223. S2CID 25035362.
- ^ "WHO | WHO's first global report on antibiotic resistance reveals serious, worldwide threat to public health". www.who.int. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, Christine L.; Broberg, Christopher A.; McCool, Elijah N.; Lee, Woo Jean; Chao, Alex; McConnell, Evan W.; Pritchard, David A.; Hebert, Michael; Fleeman, Renee (2017-01-04). "The "PepSAVI-MS" Pipeline for Natural Product Bioactive Peptide Discovery". Analytical Chemistry. 89 (2): 1194–1201. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.6b03625. PMC 8609470. PMID 27991763.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, Christine L.; Parsley, Nicole C.; Bartges, Tessa E.; Cooke, Madeline E.; Evans, Wilaysha S.; Heil, Lilian R.; Smith, Thomas J.; Hicks, Leslie M. (2018-02-05). "Fungal Secretome Analysis via PepSAVI-MS: Identification of the Bioactive Peptide KP4 from Ustilago maydis". Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. 29 (5): 859–865. doi:10.1007/s13361-017-1880-z. ISSN 1044-0305. PMC 5983367. PMID 29404970.
- ^ "Awards". www.ushupo.org. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ "PSNA Awards". www.psna-online.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ Hicks, Leslie (April 10, 2017). "Leslie Hicks, Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). UNC Chemistry. Retrieved March 20, 2018.