Growing ‘brains’ in the lab
Hickmott says he is using ferret stem cells to grow “mini brains” in a dish to understand how they develop.
“You start off with stem cells – these are unspecified cells and they can become anything. You then push them into becoming the type of cell that you want,” he said.
Usually, these organoids are made from human stem cells but in a world-first, Hickmott is creating them with ferret stem cells courtesy of Associate Professor Amy Ryan at the University of Iowa.
“Because ferrets develop so much faster than humans, they might mimic much more advanced structures, including brain folds,” said Ryan.
“I see organoids as a key technology that will help usher in a golden era of neuroscience, helping solve longstanding mysteries and greatly reducing the need for animal experimentation.
Making his way to RMIT
Hickmott completed his undergraduate studies in the UK where he then worked in a series of research and science roles. He came to Australia in 2018 on a working holiday visa, taking a break from scientific work. After working in a series of jobs, he decided it was time to get back into science.
He started looking for PhD opportunities around mid-2019 and was able to secure funding at RMIT in November that year and began his research.
“Then obviously the pandemic happens. So, it was a weird start, but in some ways, it was kind of nice. I got to start the PhD but have lots of time for writing… And because I'd spent so much time away from science, it gave me time to really think about what area I wanted to be in.
While working in the UK in the NHS, Hickmott came across many people in elderly care who suffered from things such as dementia. This inspired him to study the brain.
Hickmott was inspired by work already underway at RMIT and took the novel approach of growing ferret organoids. His supervisors are Associate Professor Mary Tolcos, Dr Anita Quigley, Dr Sebastian Quezada and Professor David Walker, founder of RMIT’s Neurodevelopment in Health and Disease program,
“I'm the only one that's doing the organoids at the moment. But we're hoping that as it becomes more established, we can build up a bigger team around that going forward,” he says.
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Story: Nick Adams
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