معرفی
Kevin G. Hicks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology at the University of Utah College of Health, holding an adjunct appointment in Biochemistry. His research focuses on metabolic regulation via protein-metabolite interactions, developed through the MIDAS platform. He completed his PhD in Microbiology at the University of Washington (2015) and postdoctoral training in Biochemistry at the University of Utah before joining the faculty in 2024. His work bridges biochemistry, metabolomics, and interactomics to uncover mechanisms of metabolic regulation in health and disease.
Education:
- B.S. Biology (Biochemistry emphasis), University of Oregon, 2007
- Ph.D. Microbiology, University of Washington, 2015
- Postdoctoral Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, 2015–2020
Research Interests: The Hicks lab investigates how metabolites regulate enzyme function and metabolic pathways, with a focus on developing novel interactome discovery technologies. Key areas include:
- Systematic identification of protein-metabolite interactions
- Allosteric regulation of metabolic enzymes
- Therapeutic applications of interactomics
- Metabolic dysregulation in disease
Grants & Awards: Recent funding includes grants from the NIH, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Calico Life Sciences (totaling over $20M). He received the Innovation Impact Award (2023) for contributions to interactome discovery.
Lab Activities: The lab includes postdoctoral researchers (e.g., Marissa Trujillo), graduate students (e.g., Lindsay Mortensen), and technicians. Research spans molecular biology, mass spectrometry, and computational analyses. Current projects expand MIDAS applications to membrane proteins and RNA-metabolite interactions.
