ZFIN ID: ZDB-PERS-040810-17
Bill, Brent
Email: bbill@uttyler.edu
URL: http://www.uttyler.edu/biology/faculty/bbill.php
Affiliation:
Address: 3900 University Blvd. Department of Biology Tyler, TX 75799
Country:
Phone: 903-565-5883
Fax: 903-566-7189
ORCID ID:


BIOGRAPHY AND RESEARCH INTERESTS
2014-Present: Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Biology.
We are interested in determining the genetic and environmental etiologic causes of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Utilizing the zebrafish as a tool, we mutate and over express ASD risk homologs, identify phenotypes associated, and screen for molecules that may enhance or mitigate these phenotypes.

2008-2014: Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Geschwind.
We utilized morpholino oligonucleotides to reduce the levels cntnap2a, a homolog of the well established ASD gene CNTNAP2. We identified morphological and behavioral changes in the zebrafish, and identified a pharmaceutical capable of mitigating the behavioral phenotype. This paper is currently being revised.

2002-2008: Ph.D., MCDBG - in the laboratories of Drs. Lisa A. Schimmenti and Stephen C. Ekker.
We performed the largest morpholine screen conducted to date looking for the phenotypes of over 200 gene knockdowns. Specifically, I screened for developmental eye abnormalities. In addition, during the characterization of an enhancer trap line, we identified the choroid plexus, the organ responsible for regulating the constituents of the cerebral spinal fluid.

1999-2002: M.S., Biotechnology in the lab of Dr. Anthony Otsuka.
We were interested in the C. elegans specific isoform of the ankyrin family, unc-44. We performed biochemical experiments to look at it membrane localization.

1995-1999: B.S., Biological Sciences
Labs:
Dr. Anthony Otsuka - Phenotypic analysis of the nuc-1 mutant.
Dr. Douglas Whitman - Functionality of the Comstock-Kellogg Gland.
Dr. Joseph Armstrong- Distribution of Pedicularis on an Illinois Prairie.


PUBLICATIONS
Roberts, A.C., Chornak, J., Alzagatiti, J.B., Ly, D.T., Bill, B.R., Trinkeller, J., Pearce, K.C., Choe, R.C., Campbell, C.S., Wong, D., Deutsch, E., Hernandez, S., Glanzman, D.L. (2019) Rapid habituation of a touch-induced escape response in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Larvae. PLoS One. 14:e0214374
Roberts, A.C., Pearce, K.C., Choe, R.C., Alzagatiti, J.B., Yeung, A.K., Bill, B.R., Glanzman, D.L. (2016) Long-Term Habituation of the C-Start Escape Response in Zebrafish Larvae. Neurobiology of learning and memory. 134 Pt B:360-8
Hoffman, E.J., Turner, K.J., Fernandez, J.M., Cifuentes, D., Ghosh, M., Ijaz, S., Jain, R.A., Kubo, F., Bill, B.R., Baier, H., Granato, M., Barresi, M.J., Wilson, S.W., Rihel, J., State, M.W., Giraldez, A.J. (2016) Estrogens Suppress a Behavioral Phenotype in Zebrafish Mutants of the Autism Risk Gene, CNTNAP2. Neuron. 89(4):725-33
Bill, B.R., Korzh, V. (2014) Choroid plexus in developmental and evolutionary perspective. Frontiers in neuroscience. 8:363
Roberts, A.C., Bill, B.R., and Glanzman, D.L. (2013) Learning and memory in zebrafish larvae. Frontiers in neural circuits. 7:126
Bedell, V.M., Person, A.D., Larson, J.D., McLoon, A., Balciunas, D., Clark, K.J., Neff, K.I., Nelson, K.E., Bill, B.R., Schimmenti, L.A., Beiraghi, S., and Ekker, S.C. (2012) The lineage-specific gene ponzr1 is essential for zebrafish pronephric and pharyngeal arch development. Development (Cambridge, England). 139(4):793-804
Alexandre, D., Alonzeau, J., Bill, B.R., Ekker, S.C., and Waschek, J.A. (2011) Expression Analysis of PAC1-R and PACAP Genes in Zebrafish Embryos. Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN. 43(1):94-100
Bill, B.R., Petzold, A.M., Clark, K.J., Schimmenti, L.A., and Ekker, S.C. (2009) A primer for morpholino use in zebrafish. Zebrafish. 6(1):69-77
Bill, B.R., Balciunas, D., McCarra, J.A., Young, E.D., Xiong, T., Spahn, A.M., Garcia-Lecea, M., Korzh, V., Ekker, S.C., and Schimmenti, L.A. (2008) Development and notch signaling requirements of the zebrafish choroid plexus. PLoS One. 3(9):e3114
Knowlton, M.N., Li, T., Ren, Y., Bill, B.R., Ellis, L.B., and Ekker, S.C. (2008) A PATO-compliant zebrafish screening database (MODB): management of morpholino knockdown screen information. BMC Bioinformatics. 9(1):7
Alvarez, Y., Cederlund, M.L., Cottell, D.C., Bill, B.R., Ekker, S.C., Torres-Vazquez, J., Weinstein, B.M., Hyde, D.R., Vihtelic, T.S., and Kennedy, B.N. (2007) Genetic determinants of hyaloid and retinal vasculature in zebrafish. BMC Developmental Biology. 7(1):114

NON-ZEBRAFISH PUBLICATIONS
Asami Oguro-Ando, Clark Rosensweig, Edward Herman, Yuhei Nishimura, Donna Werling, Brent R. Bill, Jamee M. Berg, Fuying Gao, Giovanni Coppola, Brett S. Abrahams, Daniel H. Geschwind (2014). Disease-associated CYFIP1 overexpression alters synapse morphology through dysregulation of mTOR signaling. Molecular Psychiatry, Early online edition 2014 (doi: 10.1038/mp.2014.124)

Jorune Balciuniene, Ningping Feng, Kelly Iyadurai, Betsy Hirsch, Lawrence Charnas, Brent R. Bill, Mathew C. Easterday, Johan Staaf, LeAnn Oseth, Desiree Czapansky-Beilman, Dimitri Avramopoulos, George H. Thomas, �ke Borg, David Valle, Lisa A. Schimmenti, Scott Selleck (2007) Recurrent 10q22-23 deletions: A genomic disorder on 10q associated with cognitive and behavioral abnormalities. AJHG 80: 938.

Lyon, C., C. Evans, B. Bill, A. Otsuka, and R. Aguilera (2000) The C. elegans apoptotic nuclease NUC-1 is related in sequence and activity to mammalian DnaseII. Gene 252:147-154.

REVIEWS & BOOK CHAPTERS

Bill, Brent R. and Daniel H. Geschwind. Genetic Advances in Autism: Heterogeneity and Convergence on Shared Pathways. (2009) Current Opinions in Genetics and Development Jun 19 (3): 271-8.

Bill, Brent R. Christina T. DyBuncio, Jennifer K Lowe, and Brent L. Fogel. (2013) Chapter 8 - Orchestration of Neurodevelopmental Programs by RBFOX1: Implications for Autism Spectrum Disorder. International Review of Neurobiology: The Neurobiology of Autism. Volume 113, 2013, Pages 251–267.