Professor Nick Hastie CBE FRS FRSE

Nick Hastie has made diverse contributions to genetic research during his career, impacting on areas such as the complexity of gene expression, genome organisation and protein evolution, as well as developmental genetics and human inherited disorders.

Recently, much of his work has focussed on the Wilms' tumour gene, WT1, and its role in the development of the kidney and other tissues.

Some key papers

1. Schedl, A.; Ross, A.; Lee, M.; Engelkamp, D.; Rashbass, P.; van Heyningen, V. and Hastie, N.D. Influence of PAX6 gene dosage on development: Overexpression causes severe eye abnormalities.
   Cell 86:71-82, 1996
   PubMed Abstract
2. Larsson, S.H.; Charlieu, J.P.; Miyagawa, K.; Engelkamp, D.; Ross, A.; van Heyningen, V.; Hastie, N.D.; Cuzin, F. and Rassoulzadegan, M. Subnuclear Localization of WT1 in Splicing or Transcription Factor Domains is Regulated by Alternative Splicing. Cell 81:391-401, 1995
   PubMed Abstract
3. Gordon, C.; McGurk, G.; Dillon, P.; Rosen, C. and Hastie, N.D. Defective mitosis due to a mutation in the gene for a fission yeast 26S protease subunit.
   Nature 366:355-357, 1993
   PubMed Abstract
4. Bickmore, W.A.; Oghene, K.; Little, M.H.; Seawright, A.; van Heyningen, V. and Hastie, N.D. Modulation of DNA binding specificity by alternative splicing of the Wilms tumor wt1 gene transcript.
   Science 257:235-237, 1992
   PubMed Abstract
5. Hastie, N.D.; Dempster, M.; Dunlop, M.G.; Thompson, A.M.; Green, D.K. and Allshire, R.C. Telomere reduction in human colorectal carcinoma and with ageing. Nature 346:866-868, 1990
   PubMed Abstract
6. Pritchard-Jones, K.; Fleming, S.; Davidson, D.; Bickmore, W.; Porteous, D.; Gosden, C.; Bard, J.; Buckler, A.; Pelletier, J.; Housman, D.; van Heyningen, V. and Hastie, N. The candidate Wilms' tumour gene is involved in genitourinary development. Nature 346:194-197, 1990 PubMed Abstract
7. Hill, R.E. and Hastie, N.D. Accelerated evolution in the reactive centre regions of serine protease inhibitors.
   Nature 326:96-99, 1987
   PubMed Abstract
8. Hastie, N.D. and Bishop, J.O. The expression of three abundance classes of messenger RNA in mouse tissues.
   Cell 9:761-774, 1976
   PubMed Abstract

Professor Hastie has made many discoveries and has frequently pushed forward new and emerging technologies. Nick has combined very effectively studies of both human and mouse genetics, together with elegant cell and molecular studies that have illuminated our understanding of the mechanisms of WT1 action. As well as this focussed approach to the study of WT1, Nick continues to contribute to broader genetic studies that take either a transcriptome or an epidemiological approach. These holistic approaches reflect some of his earlier interests in genome organisation and gene expression.

Important contributions include

demonstration of telomere reduction in cancer and aging (1990); demonstration that alternative splicing contributes to protein isoform function and that WTl is more than just a transcription factor (1995); using transgenesis with a human VAC to rescue a mouse phenotype and to demonstrate the importance of gene dosage (1996).

It is fitting that Nick Hastie received the Genetics Society Medal at a meeting held jointly with the British Society for Human Genetics. Nick has had a far-reaching influence on the genetics community. As director of the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh he has been, and continues to be, an inspirational leader. He has consistently published at the highest level, but equally importantly, he is one of our most charismatic speakers and has for many years been energetic in facilitating and promoting UK genetics research.

Among numerous career highlights, Nick was elected an inaugural HUGO member in 1989, elected as an EMBO member in 1990, was European editor of Genes and Development 1991-1997, and was elected as a Fellow ofthe Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1993. He received the BSHG Carter Medal in 2001, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2003, and in the Queen's 80th birthday Honours list of 2006 he was the recipient of a CBE.