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Colin Nichols
Colin Nichols
	Colin Nichols in 2014, portrait via the Royal Society
Born	Colin G. Nichols; Leicester
Alma mater	University of Leeds (BSc, PhD)
Known for	ATP-sensitive potassium channels; Inward-rectifier potassium ion channels;
Awards	FRS (2014);
	Scientific career
Fields	Biology; Medicine;
Institutions	Washington University in St. Louis; University of Maryland, College Park;
Thesis	The effects of changes of length and load on contractility in mammalian myocardium (1985)
Doctoral advisor	Brian R. Jewell
Website	nicholslab.wustl.edu

Colin G. Nichols FRS is the Carl Cori Endowed Professor, and Director of the Center for Investigation of Membrane Excitability Diseases at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.^[2]^[8]^[9]

Education

Nichols was educated at the University of Leeds where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Physiology in 1982, followed by a PhD in 1985^[10] for research on cardiac muscle in mammals supervised by Brian R. Jewell.^[3]^[4]

Career

Following his PhD, Nichols completed postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland, College Park in the laboratory of W. Jonathan Lederer.^[11] He was appointed Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in 1991 and Full Professor in 2000.^[3]

Research

Nichol's research investigates the biology of ion channels, particularly potassium channels, and their role in diabetes mellitus, cardiac dysrhythmias and epilepsy.^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17] Nichols uses models to investigate the structure, function and regulation of ion channels, which control what cells do by controlling their electrical polarity.^[5]

Awards and honours

Nichols was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014. His nomination reads:

Colin Nichols is distinguished for his contributions to our understanding of cellular excitability and its role in disease. He was instrumental in cloning the first inward rectifier channel and the regulatory subunit of the KATP channel. He elucidated the mechanism of inward rectification, generated new insights into lipid regulation of ion channel function, determined the physiological role of cardiac KATP channels and identified one type of congenital hyperinsulinism. Animal models that he generated predicted the mechanism of human neonatal diabetes, and ultimately helped enable patients to switch from insulin injections to oral drug therapy.^[1]

Fun Fact

Colin G. Nichols loves ham and cheese sandwiches, especially on fresh baguette bread.

References

^ ^a ^b "Professor Colin Nichols FRS". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
^ ^a ^b Colin Nichols publications indexed by Google Scholar
^ ^a ^b ^c Colin Nichols Laboratory Archived 17 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Washington University in St. Louis
^ ^a ^b Nichols, C. G.; Hanck, D. A.; Jewell, B. R. (1988). "The Anrep effect: An intrinsic myocardial mechanism". Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 66 (7): 924–9. doi:10.1139/y88-150. PMID 3214805.
^ ^a ^b Colin Nichols elected to Royal Society, WUSTL Newsroom 2014-06-27
^ Nichols, C. G. (2006). "K_ATP channels as molecular sensors of cellular metabolism". Nature. 440 (7083): 470–6. Bibcode:2006Natur.440..470N. doi:10.1038/nature04711. PMID 16554807. S2CID 11899176.
^ Nichols, C. G.; Lopatin, A. N. (1997). "Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels". Annual Review of Physiology. 59: 171–191. doi:10.1146/annurev.physiol.59.1.171. PMID 9074760. S2CID 494896.
^ Colin Nichols publications indexed by Microsoft Academic
^ Colin Nichols's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
^ Nichols, Colin G. (1985). The effects of changes of length and load on contractility in mammalian myocardium (PhD thesis). University of Leeds.
^ Nichols, C. G.; Lederer, W. J. (1991). "Adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels in the cardiovascular system". The American Journal of Physiology. 261 (6 Pt 2): H1675–86. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.1991.261.6.H1675. PMID 1750525. S2CID 416641.
^ Ho, K.; Nichols, C. G.; Lederer, W. J.; Lytton, J.; Vassilev, P. M.; Kanazirska, M. V.; Hebert, S. C. (1993). "Cloning and expression of an inwardly rectifying ATP-regulated potassium channel". Nature. 362 (6415): 31–8. Bibcode:1993Natur.362...31H. doi:10.1038/362031a0. PMID 7680431. S2CID 4332298.
^ Aguilar-Bryan, L.; Nichols, C.; Wechsler, S.; Clement, J.; Boyd, A.; Gonzalez, G.; Herrera-Sosa, H.; Nguy, K.; Bryan, J.; Nelson, D. (1995). "Cloning of the beta cell high-affinity sulfonylurea receptor: A regulator of insulin secretion". Science. 268 (5209): 423–6. Bibcode:1995Sci...268..423A. doi:10.1126/science.7716547. PMID 7716547.
^ Nichols, C. G.; Shyng, S. -L.; Nestorowicz, A.; Glaser, B.; Clement, J. P.; Gonzalez, G.; Aguilar-Bryan, L.; Permutt, M. A.; Bryan, J. (1996). "Adenosine Diphosphate as an Intracellular Regulator of Insulin Secretion". Science. 272 (5269): 1785–7. Bibcode:1996Sci...272.1785N. doi:10.1126/science.272.5269.1785. PMID 8650576. S2CID 24351329.
^ Kubo, Y.; Adelman, J.P.; Clapham, D.E.; Jan, L.Y.; Karschin, A.; Kurachi, Y.; Lazdunski, M.; Nichols, C.G.; Seino, S.; Vandenberg, C.A. (2005). "International Union of Pharmacology. LIV. Nomenclature and Molecular Relationships of Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels". Pharmacological Reviews. 57 (4): 509–26. doi:10.1124/pr.57.4.11. PMID 16382105. S2CID 11588492.
^ Koster, J.; Marshall, B.A.; Ensor, N.; Corbett, J.A.; Nichols, C.G. (2000). "Targeted Overactivity of β Cell K_ATP Channels Induces Profound Neonatal Diabetes". Cell. 100 (6): 645–654. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80701-1. PMID 10761930.
^ Koster, J. C.; Knopp, A; Flagg, T. P.; Markova, K. P.; Sha, Q; Enkvetchakul, D; Betsuyaku, T; Yamada, K. A.; Nichols, C. G. (2001). "Tolerance for ATP-insensitive K(ATP) channels in transgenic mice". Circulation Research. 89 (11): 1022–9. doi:10.1161/hh2301.100342. PMID 11717159.