I joined the Kenyon faculty in 1999, and teach courses in genetics, development, and plant biology, as well as introductory lecture and lab classes. My research focuses on the regulation of reproductive development in land plants in response to photoperiodic seasonal cues. I began working on photoperiodic flowering using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a postdoc at the University of Oregon. During sabbatical leave at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, I expanded my research focus to the evolution of photoperiodism, using the moss Physcomitrella patens as a model.

Areas of Expertise

Plant molecular and developmental genetics

Education

B.A. Swarthmore College
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Post-doctoral Research University of Oregon

Selected Publications

Rensing SA, Lang D, Zimmer AD, Terry A, Salamov A, Shapiro H, Nishiyama T, Perroud PF, Lindquist EA, Kamisugi Y, Tanahashi T, Sakakibara K, Fujita T, Oishi K, Shin-I T, Kuroki Y, Toyoda A, Suzuki Y, Hashimoto S, Yamaguchi K, Sugano S, Kohara Y, Fujiyama A, Anterola A, Aoki S, Ashton N, Barbazuk WB, Barker E, Bennetzen JL, Blankenship R, Cho SH, Dutcher SK, Estelle M, Fawcett JA, Gundlach H, Hanada K, Heyl A, Hicks KA, et al. 2008. The Physcomitrella genome reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants. Science 319:64-69.

Kim, W.-Y., Hicks, K.A., and Somers, D.E. 2005. Independent roles for early flowering 3 and zeitlupein the control of circadian timing, hypocotyl length and flowering time.Plant Physiology 139:1557-1569.

Hicks, K.A., Albertson, T.M., and Wagner, D.R. 2001. Early flowering 3 encodes a novel protein that regulates circadian clock function and flowering in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 13:1281-1292.

Hicks, K.A., Millar, A.J., Carré, I.A., Somers, D.E., Straume, M., Meeks-Wagner, D.R., and Kay, S.A. 1996. Conditional circadian dysfunction of the Arabidopsisearly-flowering 3 mutant. Science 274:790-792.

Zagotta, M.T., Hicks, K.A., Jacobs, C.I., Young, J.C., Hangarter, R.P., and Meeks-Wagner, D.R. 1996. The ArabidopsisELF3 gene regulates vegetative photomorphogenesis and the photoperiodic induction of flowering. Plant J. 10:691-702.

Hicks, K.A., Sundås, A., and Meeks-Wagner, D.R. 1996. Arabidopsis early-flowering mutants reveal multiple levels of regulation in the vegetative-to-floral transition. Sem. Cell Dev. Biol. 7:409-418.

Courses Taught

Genetics and Development of Organisms (BIOL 114)
Plant Biology and Laboratory Experience in Plant Biology (BIOL 233 and 234)
Genetic Analysis and Experimental Genetic Analysis (BIOL 255 and 256)
Developmental Biology and Experiments in Developmental Biology (BIOL 321 and 322)
Information and Communication (BIOL 470)