Holden Higginbotham, Ph.D.
Schizophrenia
About Me:
I was born in: June
I am originally from: Farmington, MO
Today, I live in: Chapel Hill, NC
My Undergraduate Degree was in: Zoology, from: Brigham Young University
My Graduate Degree was in: Biomedical Science, from: University of California, San Diego
I currently work at: University of North Carolina
About My Work:
My field of study is: Schizophrenia - Developmental Neuroscience
I enjoy this because: The process of brain development is a complex yet fascinating process, and understanding it has many implications for finding treatments for psychiatric disease.
I am currently working on: During brain development, immature neurons need to move to certain locations in the brain where they can mature and form connections with other neurons. This movement, termed neuron migration, depends on the neurons being able to sense an array of chemicals in the brain that act as guidance cues, showing the neurons the path they should follow. I am interested in how neurons sense those chemical cues. One possibility is that neurons use their cilium (a tiny, hair-like structure that extends out from cells into the surrounding environment) as a sort of antennae to pick up the signals. If true, it might follow that neurons with defective cilia would also be defective in their migration, and the brain wouldn’t develop correctly. This idea is supported by the fact that there are children with autism and mental retardation who also have defective cilia. Perhaps the cognitive problems in these children stem from disruptions in neuronal migration, which in turn stems from defective cilia. I am trying to figure this out. For more information about this project, please visit: http://holdenh.web.unc.edu/.
| More About Me:Right Handed or Left Handed: Right Handed What is your favorite word? Fortuitous What place in the world would you most like to visit? Alaska or Patagonia Do you have any nicknames? Higgy, Higgs, Hold, Holdie, Higg... Favorite TV show: Lost Desk: messy or organized? messy, Messy, MESSY, ORGANIZED, messy... How many languages can you speak and what are they? Spanish and English Do you play any instruments? guitar, percussion Your Perfect Pizza: Smothered in pepperoni and extra sauce If I was not doing what I am doing today, I might be working as: Photographer, writer Here is what I'd like to share with the world: Scientists need to get better at communicating their findings. The public is very interested in what we do, but we often don't share it very well. |
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