Staff Profile

Roles and Responsibilities

Principal Investigator; Molecular Cancer Survivorship

Member of the Paediatric Brain Tumour Group, NICR.

Qualifications

PhD (molecular genetics) 2009, Newcastle University

BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences (molecular biology), 2003, University of Edinburgh

Previous positions

2014 - 2019: Faculty Fellow / Senior Research Associate, Paediatric Brain Tumour Group, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University.

2004-2014; Researcher to Faculty Fellow; John Walton Neuromuscular Disease Centre, Institute of Human Genetics, Newcastle University.

Honours and Awards

Newcastle University Research Fellowship awarded in 2019 in molecular cancer survivorship.

Newcastle University Faculty Fellowship awarded in June 2013 by the Faculty of Medical Sciences in recognition of academic leadership potential.

Elsevier award for best oral presentation. 18th Congress of the World Muscle Society, Asilomar, California, October 2-6, 2013.

Poster selected from >200 for presentation in ‘highlights’ session, 15th Congress of the World Muscle Society, Kumamoto, Japan, October 12-16, 2010.

Elsevier Award for best oral presentation. 13^th Congress of the World Muscle Society, Newcastle, UK, October 17-20, 2008.

Student Supervision

PhD: Lead supervisor on 4-year CRUK-funded Newcastle Cancer Centre studentship; Oct 2018. Named co-supervisor of two other PhD students (2012-2016)

Erasmus traineeship: Lead supervisor, April-August 2018

MRes (Medical Genetics/Cancer studies); 13 students (2011-current)

BSc Biomedical Sciences: 17 students (2010-current)

Memberships

UK Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG)

International Society for Paediatric Oncology; SIOPE-Brain Tumour Group Quality of Survival, Embryonal Tumours  and Biology working groups.

British Association for Cancer Research

European Association for Cancer Research

Google Scholar: Click here.

Research Interests

Cancer ‘Survivorship’ is defined as starting at the time of diagnosis and lasts throughout the lifespan and as such encompasses both treatment-related acute toxicities and long-term sequelae (‘late effects’) involving reproductive, cardiac, respiratory, endocrine, metabolic and neurological systems.

Perhaps the most devastating impacts of the reduced quality of survival (QoS) that follows brain tumour treatment are the neurocognitive deficits (IQ, attention, executive functions, etc) which render childhood survivors feeling ‘left-behind’ compared to their peers and at a disadvantage entering their teenage and adult years. Despite the huge advances in molecularly-driven risk-stratification, classification, and therapeutics in childhood cancers, equivalent advances have not been made with reference to survivorship outcomes, with a particular paucity in paediatric brain tumour research.  The huge unmet need of these childhood cancer survivors (~300,000 – 500,000 across Europe) is becoming increasingly recognised.

My work involves molecular pathology studies in medulloblastoma to enable biomarker discovery and improved risk-stratification and also aims to reduce the disease/treatment-associated burden in medulloblastoma survivors by understanding the key clinico-molecular correlates of late effects, developing/ assessing reduced intensity therapies, and advancing drug and rehabilitation strategies.

Research Role

Principal Investigator: Molecular Cancer Survivorship

Member of the Paediatric Brain Tumour Group, NICR.

Student Supervision

PhD: Lead supervisor on 4-year CRUK-funded Newcastle Cancer Centre studentship; Oct 2018. Named co-supervisor of two other PhD students (2012-2016)

Erasmus traineeship: Lead supervisor, April-August 2018

MRes (Medical Genetics/Cancer studies); 13 students (2011-current)

MSc (Medical Sciences): 1 student (2019)

BSc Biomedical Sciences: 17 students (2010-current)

• Sharma T, Schwalbe EC, Williamson D, Sill M, Hovestadt V, Mynarek M, Rutkowski S, Robinson GW, Gajjar A, Cavalli F, Ramaswamy V, Taylor MD, Lindsey JC, Hill RM, Jager N, Korshunov A, Hicks D, Bailey S, Kool M, Chavez L, Northcott PA, Pfister SM, Clifford SC. Second-generation molecular subgrouping of medulloblastoma: an international meta-analysis of Group 3 and Group 4 subtypes. Acta Neuropathologica 2019, 138, 309-326.
• Goschzik T, Schwalbe EC, Hicks D, Smith A, zur Muehlen A, Figarella-Branger D, Doz F, Rutkowski S, Lannering B, Pietsch T, Clifford SC. Prognostic impact of whole chromosomal 1 aberration signatures in standard-risk non-WNT/non-SHH medulloblastoma: a retrospective molecular analysis of the HIT-SIOP-PNET4 clinical trial. The Lancet Oncology 2018, 19(12), 1602-1616.
• Izquierdo E, Yuan L, George S, Hubank M, Jones C, Proszek P, Shipley J, Gatz SA, Stinson C, Moore AS, Clifford SC, Hicks D, Lindsey JC, Hill RM, Jacques TS, Chalker J, Thway K, O'Connor S, Marshall L, Moreno L, Pearson A, Chesler L, Walker BA, De Castro DG. Development of a targeted sequencing approach to identify prognostic, predictive and diagnostic markers in paediatric solid tumours. Oncotarget 2017, 8(67), 112036-112050.
• Harris E, Topf A, Barresi R, Hudson J, Powell H, Tellez J, Hicks D, Porter A, Bertoli M, Evangelista T, Marini-Betollo C, Magnusson O, Lek M, MacArthur D, Bushby K, Lochmuller H, Straub V. Exome sequences versus sequential gene testing in the UK highly specialised Service for Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 2017, 12(151), -.
• Schwalbe EC, Hicks D, Rafiee G, Bashton M, Gohlke H, Enshaei A, Potluri S, Matthiesen J, Mather M, Taleongpong P, Chaston R, Silmon A, Curtis A, Lindsey JC, Crosier S, Smith AJ, Goschzik T, Doz F, Rutkowski S, Lannering B, Pietsch T, Bailey S, Williamson D, Clifford SC. Minimal methylation classifier (MIMIC): A novel method for derivation and rapid diagnostic detection of disease-associated DNA methylation signatures. Scientific Reports 2017, 7, 13421.
• Schwalbe EC, Lindsey JC, Nakjang S, Crosier S, Smith AJ, Hicks D, Rafiee G, Hill RM, Iliasova A, Stone T, Pizer B, Michalski A, Joshi A, Wharton SB, Jacques TS, Bailey S, Williamson D, Clifford SC. Novel molecular subgroups for clinical classification and outcome prediction in childhood medulloblastoma: a cohort study. The Lancet Oncology 2017, 18(7), 958-971.
• Clifford SC, Lannering B, Schwalbe EC, Hicks D, O'Toole K, Nicholson SL, Goschzik T, Zur-Mühlen A, Figarella-Branger D, Doz F, Rutkowski S, Gustafsson G, Pietsch T. Biomarker-driven stratification of disease-risk in non-metastatic medulloblastoma: Results from the multi-center HIT-SIOP-PNET4 clinical trial. Oncotarget 2015, 6(36), 38827-38839.
• Clifford SC, Lannering B, Schwalbe EC, Hicks D, O'Toole K, Nicholson SL, Goschzik T, zur Muhlen A, Figarella-Branger D, Doz F, Rutkowski S, Gustafsson G, Pietsch T, SIOP-Europe PNET Grp. Biomarker-driven stratification of disease-risk in non-metastatic medulloblastoma: Results from the multi-center HIT-SIOP-PNET4 clinical trial. Oncotarget 2015, 6(36), 38827-38839.
• Bushby KMD, Collins J, Hicks D. Collagen type VI myopathies. In: Jaroslava Halper, ed. Progress in Heritable Soft Connective Tissue Diseases. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014, pp.185-199.
• Bushby KMD, Collins J, Hicks D. Collagen Type VI Myopathies. In: Progress in Heritable Soft Connective Tissue Diseases. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014, pp.185-199.
• Hicks D, Farsani G, Laval S, Collins J, Sarkozy A, Martoni E, Shah A, Zou Y, Koch M, Bönnemann C, Roberts M, Lochmüller H, Bushby K, Straub V. Mutations in the collagen XII gene define a new form of extracellular matrix-related myopathy. Human Molecular Genetics 2014, 23(9), 2353-2363.
• Zou Y, Zwolanek D, Izu Y, Gandhy S, Schreiber G, Brockmann K, Devoto M, Tian Z, Hu Y, Veit G, Meier M, Stetefeld J, Hicks D, Straub V, Voermans NC, Birk DE, Barton ER, Koch M, Bönnemann CG. Recessive and dominant mutations in COL12A1 cause a novel EDS/myopathy overlap syndrome in human and mice. Human Molecular Genetics 2014, 23(9), 2339-2352.
• Sarkozy A, Hicks D, Hudson J, Laval SH, Barresi R, Hilton-Jones D, Deschauer M, Harris E, Rufibach L, Hwang E, Bashir R, Walter MC, Krause S, van den Bergh P, Illa I, Penisson-Besnier I, De Waele L, Turnbull D, Guglieri M, Schrank B, Schoser B, Seeger J, Schreiber H, Glaser D, Eagle M, Bailey G, Walters R, Longman C, Norwood F, Winer J, Muntoni F, Hanna M, Roberts M, Bindoff LA, Brierley C, Cooper RG, Cottrell DA, Davies NP, Gibson A, Gorman GS, Hammans S, Jackson AP, Khan A, Lane R, McConville J, McEntagart M, Al-Memar A, Nixon J, Panicker J, Parton M, Petty R, Price CJ, Rakowicz W, Ray P, Schapira AH, Swingler R, Turner C, Wagner KR, Maddison P, Shaw PJ, Straub V, Bushby K, Lochmuller H. ANO5 Gene Analysis in a Large Cohort of Patients with Anoctaminopathy: Confirmation of Male Prevalence and High Occurrence of the Common Exon 5 Gene Mutation. Human Mutation 2013, 34(8), 1111-1118.
• Hicks D, Collins JC, Bushby KMD. Collagen type VI myopathies. In: Royce PM, Stenmann B, Wiley-Liss, ed. Connective Tissue and its Heritable Disorders. Springer Verlag, 2013.
• Cossins J, Belaya K, Hicks D, Salih MA, Finlayson S, Carboni N, Liu WW, Maxwell S, Zoltowska K, Farsani GT, Laval S, Seidhamed MZ, WGS500 Consortium, Donnelly P, Bentley D, McGowan SJ, Muller J, Palace J, Lochmuller H, Beeson D. Congenital myasthenic syndromes due to mutations in ALG2 and ALG14. Brain 2013, 136(3), 944-956.
• Foley AR, Quijano-Roy S, Collins J, Straub V, McCallum M, Deconinck N, Mercuri E, Pane M, D'Amico A, Bertini E, North K, Ryan MM, Richard P, Allamand V, Hicks D, Lamande S, Hu Y, Gualandi F, Auh S, Muntoni F, Bonnemann CG. Natural history of pulmonary function in collagen VI-related myopathies. Brain 2013, 136(12), 3625-3633.
• Lampe A, Flanigan K, Bushby KMD, Hicks D. Collagen Type VI-related disorders. 2012. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1503/.
• Sarkozy A, Deschauer M, Carlier RY, Schrank B, Seeger J, Walter MC, Schoser B, Reilich P, Leturq F, Radunovic A, Behin A, Laforet P, Eymard B, Schreiber H, Hicks D, Vaidya SS, Glaser D, Carlier PG, Bushby K, Lochmuller H, Straub V. Muscle MRI findings in limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2L. Neuromuscular Disorders 2012, 22(s2), S122-S129.
• Penisson-Besnier I, Saint-Andre JP, Hicks D, Sarkozy A, Croue A, Hudson J, Lochmuller H, Dubas F. Myopathy caused by anoctamin 5 mutations and necrotizing vasculitis. Journal of Neurology 2012, 259(9), 1988-1990.
• Hicks D, Sarkozy A, Muelas N, Koehler K, Huebner A, Hudson G, Chinnery PF, Barresi R, Eagle M, Polvikoski T, Bailey G, Miller J, Radunovic A, Hughes PJ, Roberts R, Krause S, Walter MC, Laval SH, Straub V, Lochmuller H, Bushby K. A founder mutation in Anoctamin 5 is a major cause of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. Brain 2011, 134(1), 171-182.
• Hicks D, Lampe AK, Laval SH, Allamand V, Jimenez-Mallebrera C, Walter MC, Muntoni F, Quijano-Roy S, Richard P, Straub V, Lochmuller H, Bushby KMD. Cyclosporine A treatment for Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy: a cellular study of mitochondrial dysfunction and its rescue. Brain 2009, 132(1), 147-155.
• Hicks D, Lampe A, Laval S, Allamand V, Jimenez-Mallebrera C, Walter M, Muntoni F, Quijano-Roy S, Richard P, Straub V, Lochmuller H, Bushby K. Response to letter from Bernardi. Brain 2009, 132(10), e122.
• Hicks D, Lampe AK, Barresi R, Charlton RG, Fiorillo C, Bonnemann CG, Hudson J, Sutton R, Lochmüller HKM, Straub VW, Bushby KMD. A refined diagnostic algorithm for Bethlem myopathy. Neurology 2008, 70(14), 1192-1199.
• Lampe AK, Zou Y, Sudano D, O'Brien KK, Hicks D, Laval SH, Charlton R, Jimenez-Mallebrera C, Zhang R-Z, Finkel RS, Tennekoon G, Schreiber G, Van Der Knaap MS, Marks H, Straub V, Flanigan KM, Chu M-L, Muntoni F, Bushby KMD, Bonnemann CG. Exon skipping mutations in collagen VI are common and are predictive for severity and inheritance. Human Mutation 2008, 29(6), 809-822.
• Jimenez-Mallebrera C, Maioli MA, Kim J, Brown SC, Feng L, Lampe AK, Bushby K, Hicks D, Flanigan KM, Bonnemann C, Sewry CA, Muntoni F. A comparative analysis of collagen VI production in muscle, skin and fibroblasts from 14 Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy patients with dominant and recessive COL6A mutations. Neuromuscular Disorders 2006, 16(9-10), 571-582.