Investigator Bio
Robert O. Heuckeroth, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Gastroenterology and Nutrition
Developmental Biology and Genetics
Robert O. Heuckeroth Research Lab
Dr. Heuckeroth completed M.D. and Ph.D. studies at Washington University School of Medicine. He trained in pediatrics and gastroenterology at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Dr. Heuckeroth is board certified in Pediatrics and board-eligible in Pediatric Gastroenterology. He is a member of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr. Heuckeroth was a Markey Trust Scholar and a recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. He receive the Miles and Shipley Fileman Foundation Basic Research Award from the American Gastroenterological Association and the Glaxo Wellcome Institute of Digestive Health Research Award. He is also a member of the Society for Pediatric Research.
Dr. Heuckeroth's laboratory work focuses on neural crest development with a special interest in development and function of the enteric nervous system (ENS). This includes studies of the role of Ret tyrosine kinase, Ret ligands and co-receptors in ENS development. Ret is expressed in the migrating neural crest cells which form the ENS and acts as a receptor for four distinct ligands (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin, persephin, and artemin). For these ligands to activate Ret, one of the Ret co-receptors (GFR alpha-1 or GFR alpha-2 or GRF-3 alpha or GFR alpha-4) must be present. Using primary culture, we have demonstrated that GDNF and neurturin promote proliferation of gut derived neural crest cells, which form the ENS. Our recent analysis of neurturin and deficient mice suggests that different Ret ligands and co-receptors play distinct roles in formation and maintenance of a functioning enteric nervous system.
We are currently examining several other murine model systems that modulate trophic factor expression within the ENS and have demonstrated that alterations in trophic factor expression lead to dramatic changes within the ENS which modulate intestinal motility. Future studies will be directed toward uncovering the molecular mechanisms that regulate ENS development and function and have important implications for motility disorder in children, including Hirshprung's disease, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.
Selected Publications - CLICK HERE