معرفی
Dr. Frank Hirth is a Reader of Evolutionary Neuroscience at King's College London (KCL), based in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). He leads the Neural Circuits and Behaviour Laboratory at the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, focusing on brain evolution and neurodegenerative diseases. His research bridges evolutionary and clinical neuroscience, investigating genetic mechanisms underlying brain development and dysfunction in disorders like Parkinson's, ALS, and Frontotemporal Dementia.
Dr. Hirth holds a PhD from the University of Basel (1999) and a venia docendi (Habilitation). He trained at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), Basel (Switzerland), and the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS).
His research spans two major strands:
- Evolutionary studies using fossil records and gene regulatory elements to understand brain origins,
- Neurodegenerative mechanisms involving proteins like TDP-43 and α-synuclein.
Notable contributions include landmark work on arthropod-vertebrate brain homology and molecular pathways in neurodegeneration. His team’s 2022 discovery about the Cambrian lobopodian Cardiodictyon reshaped views on euarthropod brain evolution.
Teaching & Collaboration: Co-organizes KCL's flagship "Cell and Systems Neuroscience" course. Collaborates with global experts like Prof. Nicholas Strausfeld (Arizona) and Prof. Christopher Shaw (KCL).
Grants & Projects: Current grants include Alzheimer's Research UK funding for TDP43-mediated necroptosis studies and Rosetrees Trust support for Alzheimer’s-Parkinson’s overlap research. Over 200 students have been supervised, many entering academia and industry.
Labs & Teams: Directs the Neural Circuits and Behaviour Lab, integrating evolutionary and clinical neuroscience approaches to unravel brain dissolution processes.
