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Dr. Kevin Mitchell
Assoc Prof in Developmental Neurobiolo, Genetics
Assoc Prof in Developmental Neurobiolo, Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN)

Biography

Kevin Mitchell is a graduate of the Genetics Department, Trinity College Dublin (B.A., Mod. 1991) and received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley (1997), where he studied nervous system development with Prof. Corey Goodman. He did postdoctoral research with Prof. Marc Tessier-Lavigne at Stanford University, using molecular genetics to study neural development in the mouse. Since 2002 he has been on the faculty at Trinity College Dublin as a Science Foundation Ireland Investigator and now as Associate Professor in Genetics and Neuroscience. He was an EMBO Young Investigator and was elected to Fellowship of Trinity College in 2009. He served as Associate Director of Undergraduate Science Education at Trinity College Dublin from 2016-18 and led a re-imagining of the TCD science courses. Since 2018, he has been Senior Lecturer/Dean of Undergraduate Studies and has been leading efforts to create a systematic Common Architecture with the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences under the Trinity Education Project. This aims to rationalise curricular approaches under a common system with a fixed timetable, introduce greater flexibility and breadth while maintaining a strong programmatic focus, and facilitate effective innovation in delivery and assessment methods. His research interests are in understanding the genetic program specifying the wiring of the brain and its relevance to variation in human faculties, especially to psychiatric and neurological disease. He is particularly interested in schizophrenia, and autism and variation in perception, including synaesthesia. His group has discovered numerous genes involved in specifying neuronal connectivity in the developing brain and shown that mutations in such genes in mice can lead to neurological and behavioural symptoms, modelling aspects of epilepsy, psychosis and ADHD. His cross-disciplinary work on synaesthesia has helped shape the understanding of the genetic, developmental and neural basis of this unique perceptual condition. He is also a leading scholar in the genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders, having made numerous theoretical contributions and recently edited a book on the subject. The over-arching goal of his work is to help develop and promote a coherent conceptual framework in which to integrate findings from diverse fields, particularly genetics, developmental biology and neuroscience. This strategy is manifested in his cross-disciplinary experimental research and scholarship, as described above, and also in his teaching, conference organising, blogging, editing and other writing. He has developed multiple courses in the emerging, integrative field of Neurogenetics, delivered to undergraduates in both Genetics and Neuroscience at TCD. He was the lead organiser of the inter-disciplinary and international Wiring the Brain conference, held in 2009 and 2011 in Ireland and in 2013, 2015, and 2017 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. He is an active communicator on Twitter (@WiringtheBrain) and writes a popular blog on the intersection of genetics, development, neuroscience, psychology and psychiatry (http://www.wiringthebrain.com). He also regularly gives public lectures and media interviews on diverse topics, with the goal of promoting public understanding of neuroscience and genetics. His 2018 book "Innate; How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are", published by Princeton University Press, develops an integrative conceptual framework in which to consider the origins of variation in human faculties, through a novel synthesis of findings from behavioural genetics, developmental neurobiology, neuroscience and psychology.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Potter, H.D. and Mitchell, K.J., Naturalising Agent Causation, Entropy, 24, (4), 2022 Journal Article, 2022 DOI

Mitchell, K.J., Developmental noise is an overlooked contributor to innate variation in psychological traits, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 45, (e171), 2022 Journal Article, 2022 DOI

McGarry, N. and Murray, C.L. and Garvey, S. and Wilkinson, A. and Tortorelli, L. and Ryan, L. and Hayden, L. and Healy, D. and Griffin, E.W. and Hennessy, E. and Arumugam, M. and Skelly, D.T. and Mitchell, K.J. and Cunningham, C., Double stranded RNA drives anti-viral innate immune responses, sickness behavior and cognitive dysfunction dependent on dsRNA length, IFNAR1 expression and age, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 95, 2021, p413-428 Journal Article, 2021 DOI TARA - Full Text

Myers, S.M., Challman, T.D., Bernier, R., Bourgeron, T., Chung, W.K., Constantino, J.N., Eichler, E.E., Jacquemont, S., Miller, D.T., Mitchell, K.J., Zoghbi, H.Y., Martin, C.L., and Ledbetter, D.H., Insufficient Evidence for "Autism-Specific" Genes, American Journal of Human Genetics, 106, (5), 2020, p587 - 595 Journal Article, 2020 DOI TARA - Full Text URL

Okada, T. and Keino-Masu, K. and Suto, F. and Mitchell, K.J. and Masu, M., Remarkable complexity and variability of corticospinal tract defects in adult Semaphorin 6A knockout mice, Brain Research, 1710, 2019, p209-219 Journal Article, 2019 TARA - Full Text DOI

Rammos, A. and Gonzalez, L.A.N. and Weinberger, D.R. and Mitchell, K.J. and Nicodemus, K.K., The role of polygenic risk score gene-set analysis in the context of the omnigenic model of schizophrenia, Neuropsychopharmacology, 44, (9), 2019, p1562-1569 Journal Article, 2019 TARA - Full Text DOI

Rogers, M. and Boland, B. and Clarke, S. and Craven, A. and Fassbender, C. and Gill, M. and Hardiman, O. and Henshall, D.C. and Lynch, T. and Mitchell, K. and Pender, N. and Rogan, C. and Roche, R.A.P., Building a supportive framework for brain research in Ireland: Inaugural position paper of the Irish Brain Council, European Journal of Neuroscience, 49, (11), 2019, p1362-1370 Journal Article, 2019 TARA - Full Text DOI

Okada, T. and Keino-Masu, K. and Suto, F. and Mitchell, K.J. and Masu, M., Data for 3D reconstruction of the corticospinal tract in the wild-type and Semaphorin 6A knockout adult brain, Data in Brief, 23, (103718), 2019 Journal Article, 2019 TARA - Full Text DOI

Kevin J. Mitchell, Innate - How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are, Princeton University Press, 2018 Book, 2018 URL

Mitchell, K.J., Revealing the Genetic Instructions for Nervous System Wiring, Trends in Neurosciences, 41, (7), 2018, p407-409 Journal Article, 2018 DOI

Mitchell, K.J., Neurogenomics â€" towards a more rigorous science, European Journal of Neuroscience, 47, (2), 2018, p109-114 Journal Article, 2018 DOI TARA - Full Text

Mitchell, K.J., Does Neuroscience Leave Room for Free Will?, Trends in Neurosciences, 41, (9), 2018, p573-576 Journal Article, 2018 DOI

Bibollet-Bahena, Olivia and Okafuji, Tatsuya and Hokamp, Karsten and Tear, Guy and Mitchell, Kevin J, A dual-strategy expression screen for candidate connectivity labels in the developing thalamus, PloS one, 12, (5), 2017, pe0177977 Journal Article, 2017 TARA - Full Text DOI

Fiona N. Newell, Amir Amedi and Kevin J. Mitchell(ed.), Synaesthesia and Cross-Modal Perception, Multisensory Research, Trinity College Dublin, 30, (3-5), December 2016, 2017 Proceedings of a Conference, 2017 URL

Farina F.R, Mitchell K.J, Roche R.A.P, Molholm S, Synaesthesia lost and found: two cases of person- and music-colour synaesthesia, European Journal of Neuroscience, 45, (3), 2017, p472 - 477 Journal Article, 2017 URL DOI TARA - Full Text

Mitchell, K.J., What are the â€~laws of biology†?, Biologist, 64, (6), 2017, p6 Journal Article, 2017

HÃ¥kansson K, Runker A.E, O'Sullivan G.J, Mitchell K.J, Waddington J.L, O'Tuathaigh C.M.P, Semaphorin 6A knockout mice display abnormalities across ethologically-based topographies of exploration and in motor learning, Neuroscience Letters, 641, 2017, p70 - 76 Journal Article, 2017 URL DOI

Mitsogiannis, M.D. and Little, G.E. and Mitchell, K.J., Semaphorin-Plexin signaling influences early ventral telencephalic development and thalamocortical axon guidance, Neural Development, 12, (1), 2017, p6- Journal Article, 2017 DOI TARA - Full Text

O'Tuathaigh C.M.P, Fumagalli F, Desbonnet L, Perez-Branguli F, Moloney G, Loftus S, O'Leary C, Petit E, Cox R, Tighe O, Clarke G, Lai D, Harvey R.P, Cryan J.F, Mitchell K.J, Dinan T.G, Riva M.A, Waddington J.L, Epistatic and independent effects on schizophrenia-related phenotypes following co-disruption of the risk factors Neuregulin-1 Ã- DISC1, Schizophrenia Bulletin, 43, (1), 2017, p214 - 225 Journal Article, 2017 TARA - Full Text DOI URL

Newell FN, Mitchell KJ., Multisensory integration and cross-modal learning in synaesthesia: A unifying model., Neuropsychologia, 88, 2016, p140 - 150 Journal Article, 2016 DOI

Perez-Branguli F, Zagar Y, Shanley D.K, Graef I.A, Chédotal A, Mitchell K.J, Reverse signaling by semaphorin-6A regulates cellular aggregation and neuronal morphology, PLoS ONE, 11, (7), 2016, p015868- Journal Article, 2016 URL DOI TARA - Full Text

Cate M.-S, Gajendra S, Alsbury S, Raabe T, Tear G, Mitchell K.J, Mushroom body defect is required in parallel to netrin for midline axon guidance in Drosophila, Development (Cambridge), 143, (6), 2016, p972 - 977 Journal Article, 2016 URL DOI

Tropea D, Mortimer N, Bellini S, Molinos I, Sanfeliu A, Shovlin S, McAllister D, Gill M, Mitchell K, Corvin A, Expression of nuclear Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2) is dependent on neuronal stimulation and application of Insulin-like growth factor 1, Neuroscience Letters, 621, 2016, p111 - 116 Journal Article, 2016 DOI URL

D.Tropea, I. Molinos, S. Bellini, E. Petit, C. O'Toutaigh, I. Nagakura, K. Mitchell, M. Sur, M. Gill, J. Waddington, A. Corvin, Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) mutants have impaired activity-dependent plasticity in vitro and in vivo, Translational Psychiatry, 6, 2016, p712- Journal Article, 2016 TARA - Full Text URL

Betancur, C. and Mitchell, K.J., Synaptic Disorders, 2015, 195-238pp Book, 2015 DOI

Mitchell K.J, The Genetics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2015, 1 - 356pp Book, 2015 DOI URL

Mitchell, K.J., The Genetic Architecture of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2015, 1-28pp Book, 2015 DOI

Moore, J.H. and Mitchell, K.J., The Role of Genetic Interactions in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2015, 69-80pp Book, 2015 DOI

McLysaght, A, Makino, T, Grayton, HM, Tropeano, M, Mitchell, KJ, Vassos, E, Collier, DA, Ohnologs are overrepresented in pathogenic copy number mutations, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 111, (1), 2014, p361-366 Journal Article, 2014 DOI

Dolan, J, Mitchell, KJ, Mutation of Elfn1 in Mice Causes Seizures and Hyperactivity, PLoS One, 8, (11), 2013, e80491- Journal Article, 2013 DOI TARA - Full Text

Mitchell, K.J., Genetic entropy and the human intellect, Trends in Genetics, 29, (2), 2013, p59-60 Journal Article, 2013 TARA - Full Text DOI

O'Hanlon E, Newell FN, Mitchell KJ, Combined structural and functional imaging reveals cortical deactivations in grapheme-color synaesthesia., Frontiers in psychology, 4, 2013, p755 Journal Article, 2013 TARA - Full Text DOI

Mitchell, K.J., What is complex about complex disorders?, Genome Biology, 13, (1), 2012, part. no. 237 Journal Article, 2012 DOI TARA - Full Text

Runker AE, O'Tuathaight C, Dunleavy M, Morris DW, Little GE, Corvin AP, Gill M, Henshall DC, Waddington JL, Mitchell KJ. , Mutation of Semaphorin-6A Disrupts Limbic and Cortical Connectivity and Models Neurodevelopmental Psychpathology, PLoS ONE , 6, 2011, pe26488 Journal Article, 2011 DOI TARA - Full Text

Annette E. Rünker, Colm O'Tuathaigh, Mark Dunleavy,Derek W. Morris, Graham E. Little, Aiden P. Corvin,Michael Gill, David C. Henshall, John L. Waddington, Kevin J. Mitchell, Mutation of Semaphorin-6A Disrupts Limbic and Cortical Connectivity and Models Neurodevelopmental Psychopathology, PLoS ONE , 6, (11, ), 2011, pe26488 Journal Article, 2011 TARA - Full Text

Miller-Delaney, S., Lieberam, I., Jessell, T., Murphy P. and Mitchell, K. , Plxdc2 is a mitogen for neural progenitors, PLoS ONE, 6, (1), 2011, pe14565 Journal Article, 2011 TARA - Full Text

Mitchell K.J. and Porteous, D.J., Rethinking the genetic architecture of schizophrenia, Psychological Medicine , 41, (1), 2011, p19-32 Journal Article, 2011 TARA - Full Text

Kevin J Mitchell, The miswired brain: making connections from neurodevelopment to psychopathology, BMC Biology, 9, (23), 2011 Journal Article, 2011 URL DOI TARA - Full Text

Mitchell KJ, Huang ZJ, Moghaddam B, Sawa A, Following the genes: a framework for animal modeling of psychiatric disorders., BMC Biology, 9, (76), 2011 Journal Article, 2011 TARA - Full Text DOI

Kevin J Mitchell, The genetics of neurodevelopmental disease, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 21, (1), 2011, p197-203 Journal Article, 2011 TARA - Full Text

Mitchell, K.J., Curiouser and curiouser: Genetic disorders of cortical specialization, Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 21, (3), 2011, p271-277 Journal Article, 2011 DOI

Janssen, B.J.C., Robinson, R.A., Pérez-Brangulý́, F., Bell, C.H., Mitchell, K.J., Siebold, C., Jones, E.Y., Structural basis of semaphorin-plexin signalling, Nature , 467, (7319), 2010, p1118-1122 Journal Article, 2010 DOI

Tawarayama H, Yoshida Y, Suto F, Mitchell KJ, Fujisawa H., Roles of Semaphorin-6B and Plexin-A2 in Lamina-Restricted Projection of Hippocampal Mossy Fibers., Journal of Neuroscience, 30, (20), 2010, p7049-7060 Journal Article, 2010 TARA - Full Text

Mitchell K., Journal club. A neurodevelopmental geneticist explores how one mutation can lead to multiple diseases., Nature, 464, (7792), 2010, p1107 Journal Article, 2010 DOI

Little, GE, López-Bendito, G, Rünker, AE, García, N, Piñon, MC, Chédotal, A, Molnár, Z, Mitchell, KJ, Specificity and plasticity of thalamocortical connections in Sema6A mutant mice., PLoS biology, 7, (4), 2009, p98 Journal Article, 2009 DOI TARA - Full Text

Bargary, G. and Barnett, K.J. and Mitchell, K.J. and Newell, F.N., Colored-speech synaesthesia is triggered by multisensory, not unisensory, perception: Research report, Psychological Science, 20, (5), 2009, p529-533 Journal Article, 2009 DOI

Mitchell KJ, Porteous DJ. , GWAS for psychiatric disease: is the framework built on a solid foundation? , Molecular Psychiatry, 14, (8), 2009, p740-741 Journal Article, 2009 DOI

Dolan, J., Walshe, K., Alsbury, S., Hokamp, K., O'Keeffe, S., Okafuji, T., Miller, S.F.C., (...), Mitchell, K.J. , Erratum: The extracellular Leucine-Rich Repeat superfamily; a comparative survey and analysis of evolutionary relationships and expression patterns (BMC Genomics (2007) vol 8 (320)), 2009, - art. no. 230 Miscellaneous, 2009

Bargary, G, Barnett, KJ, Mitchell, KJ, Newell, FN, Colored-speech synaesthesia is triggered by multisensory, not unisensory, perception., Psychological Science, 20, (5), 2009, p529 - 533 Journal Article, 2009 DOI

Renaud, J, Kerjan, G, Sumita, I, Zagar, Y, Georget, V, Kim, D, Fouquet, C, Suda, K, Sanbo, M, Suto, F, Ackerman, SL, Mitchell, KJ, Fujisawa, H, Chédotal, A, Plexin-A2 and its ligand, Sema6A, control nucleus-centrosome coupling in migrating granule cells., Nature Neuroscience, 11, (4), 2008, p440-449 Journal Article, 2008 DOI

Bargary, G, Mitchell, KJ, Synaesthesia and cortical connectivity., Trends in neurosciences, 31, (7), 2008, p335-342 Journal Article, 2008 DOI

Barnett KJ, Newell FN, Finucane C, Corvin AP, Mitchell KJ., Familial patterns and the origins of individual differences in synaesthesia, Cognition, 106, (2), 2008, p871 - 893 Journal Article, 2008 DOI

Barnett, KJ, Finucane, C, Asher, JE, Bargary, G, Corvin, AP, Newell, FN, Mitchell, KJ, Familial patterns and the origins of individual differences in synaesthesia., Cognition, 106, (2), 2008, p871-893 Journal Article, 2008 DOI

Barnett, KJ, Foxe, JJ, Molholm, S, Kelly, SP, Shalgi, S, Mitchell, KJ, Newell, FN, Differences in early sensory-perceptual processing in synesthesia: a visual evoked potential study., NeuroImage, 43, (3), 2008, p605-613 Journal Article, 2008 DOI

Rünker, AE, Little, GE, Suto, F, Fujisawa, H, Mitchell, KJ, Semaphorin-6A controls guidance of corticospinal tract axons at multiple choice points., Neural development, 3, (34), 2008 Journal Article, 2008 DOI URL TARA - Full Text

Bargary G, Mitchell KJ , Response to Cohen Kadosh and Walsh: Synaesthesia: evaluating competing theories.. , 2008, - 550-551 Miscellaneous, 2008 URL

Waddington, JL, Corvin, AP, Donohoe, G, O'Tuathaigh, CM, Mitchell, KJ, Gill, M, Functional genomics and schizophrenia: endophenotypes and mutant models., The Psychiatric clinics of North America, 30, (3), 2007 Journal Article, 2007 DOI

Waddington JL, Corvin A, Donohoe G, O'Tuathaigh C, Mitchell K, Gill M., Functional genomics and schizophrenia; endophenotypes and mutant models., Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 30, (3), 2007, p365 - 399 Journal Article, 2007 URL

Miller, SF, Summerhurst, K, Rünker, AE, Kerjan, G, Friedel, RH, Chédotal, A, Murphy, P, Mitchell, KJ, Expression of Plxdc2/TEM7R in the developing nervous system of the mouse., Gene Expression Patterns, 7, (5), 2007, p635-644 Journal Article, 2007 DOI TARA - Full Text

Mitchell, KJ, The genetics of brain wiring: from molecule to mind., PLoS biology, 5, (4), 2007, p113 Journal Article, 2007 DOI TARA - Full Text

Miller S. F. C, Summerhurst, K., Rünker, A. E., Kerjan, G., Friedel, R. H., Chédotal, A., Murphy, P. and Mitchell, K. J. , Expression of Plxdc2/TEM7R in the developing nervous system of the mouse, Gene Expression Patterns, 7, (5), 2007, p635-644 Journal Article, 2007 DOI

Dolan, J, Walshe, K, Alsbury, S, Hokamp, K, O'Keeffe, S, Okafuji, T, Miller, SF, Tear, G, Mitchell, KJ, The extracellular leucine-rich repeat superfamily; a comparative survey and analysis of evolutionary relationships and expression patterns., BMC Genomics, 8, (320), 2007 Journal Article, 2007 DOI TARA - Full Text

Suto, F., Tsuboi, M., Kamiya, H., Mizuno, H., Kiyama, Y., Komai, S.,, Shimizu, M., Sanbo, M., Yagi, T., Hiromi, Y., Chédotal, A., Mitchell, K.J., Manabe, T., and Fujisawa, H, Interactions between Plexin-A2, Plexin-A4 and Semaphorin 6A Control Lamina-restricted Projection of Hippocampal Mossy Fibers, Neuron, 53, (4), 2007, p535-547 Journal Article, 2007 DOI

Bron R, Vermeren M, Kokot N, Andrews W, Little GE, Mitchell KJ, Cohen J., Boundary cap cells constrain spinal motor neuron somal migration at motor exit points by a semaphorin-plexin mechanism, Neural Development, 30, (2), 2007, p21 Journal Article, 2007 DOI TARA - Full Text

Kerjan, G, Dolan, J, Haumaitre, C, Schneider-Maunoury, S, Fujisawa, H, Mitchell, KJ, Chetdotal, A, The transmembrane semaphorin Sema6A controls cerebellar granule cell migration, Nature Neuroscience, 8, (11), 2005, p1516 - 1524 Journal Article, 2005 DOI

Little, G. et al, Novel roles for Semaphorin-6A in axon guidance and cell migration, EMBO Workshop, The Assembly of Neural Circuits, Varenna, Italy, Sept, 2003 Poster, 2003

Leighton, P.A.*, Mitchell, K.J.*, Goodrich, L.V.*, Lu, X., Pinson, K.I., Scherz, P., Skarnes, W.C., and Tessier-Lavigne, M., Defining brain wiring patterns and mechanisms through gene trapping in mice, Nature, 410, (6825), 2001, p174 - 179 Journal Article, 2001 DOI

Studying brain development and wiring using a modified gene trap approach. in, editor(s)H.R. Chen and S.O. Moldin , Methods in Genomic Neuroscience, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 2001, [1. Mitchell, K.J., et al. ] Book Chapter, 2001

Mitchell, K.J. et al, The use of bicistronic gene trap vectors to analyse brain wiring in mice., International Gene Trap Workshop, Toronto, May , 2001 Oral Presentation, 2001

Mitchell, K.J.*, Pinson, K.I.*, Kelly, O.G., Brennan, J., Zupicich, J., Scherz, P., Leighton, P.A., Goodrich, L.V., Lu, X., Avery, B.J., Tate, P., Dill, K., Pangilinan, E., Wakenight, P., Tessier-Lavigne, M., and Skarnes, W.C. , Functional analysis of secreted and transmembrane proteins critical to mouse development, Nature Genetics , 28, (3), 2001, p241 - 249 Journal Article, 2001 DOI

Mitchell, K.J. et al, Studying brain development and wiring using a modified gene trap approach in mice, EMBO-FMI Conference, Organizing the Brain: Genes, Neurons and Circuits, Ascona, Switzerland, 2001 Conference Paper, 2001

Mitchell, K.J., Leighton, P., Goodrich, L., Lu, X., Mak, J., Pinson, K., Tate, P., Wakenight, P., Scherz, P., Skarnes, W.C., and Tessier-Lavigne, M., A genetic screen for new axon guidance receptors in mouse, M, A genetic screen for new axon guidance receptors in mouse, 30th Annual Meeting, Society for Neuroscience, 2000 Conference Paper, 2000

Mitchell, K. J., Connolly, J. and Gill, M., Life and Death of the Brain, 1999, - Miscellaneous, 1999

Goodman, Kidd, Tear, Russell and Mitchell, , Methods for Modulating Nerve Cell Function, 1998, B98-030 - U.S. Serial No.: 09/191,651 Patent, 1998

Winberg, M.L., Mitchell, K.J., and Goodman, C.S. , Genetic analysis of the mechanisms controlling target selection: complementary and combinatorial functions of netrins, semaphorins, and IgCAMs., Cell , 93, (4), 1998, p581 - 591 Journal Article, 1998 DOI

Tessier-Lavigne, Skarnes, Mitchell and Leighton., , Gene Trap Vectors, 1998, UC99-110 - U.S. Serial No.: 09/191,652 Patent, 1998

Goodman, Kidd, Mitchell and Tear, , Robo: A Novel Family of Polypeptides and Nucleic Acids, 1997, B98-006 - U.S. Serial No.: 08/971,172 Patent, 1997

Kidd, T., Brose, K., Mitchell, K.J., Fetter, R.D., Tessier-Lavigne, M., Goodman, C.S., and Tear, G. , Roundabout controls axon crossing of the CNS midline and defines a new subfamily of evolutionarily conserved guidance receptors, Cell, 92, (2), 1997, p205 - 215 Journal Article, 1997 DOI

Mitchell, K.J., Serafini, T.A., and Goodman, C.S, Enhancers and suppressors of Netrin mutant phenotypes in Drosophila, 27th Annual Meeting, Society for Neuroscience, 1997 Conference Paper, 1997

Mitchell, K.J., Doyle, J.L., Serafini, T., Kennedy, T.E., Tessier-Lavigne, M., Goodman, C.S., and Dickson, B.J., Genetic analysis of Netrin genes in Drosophila: Netrins guide CNS commissural axons and peripheral motor axons, Neuron, 17, (2), 1996, p203 - 215. Journal Article, 1996 DOI

Mitchell, K.J., Doyle, J., Serafini, T., Kennedy, T.E., Tessier-Lavigne, M., Goodman, C.S., and Dickson, B.J., Genetic analysis of growth cone guidance at the midline in Drosophila: expression and function of D-Netrin genes, 37th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, 1996 Conference Paper, 1996

Kolodziej, P.A., Timpe, L.C., Mitchell, K.J., Fried, S.A., Goodman, C.S., Jan, L.Y., and Jan, Y.N. , frazzled encodes a Drosophila member of the deleted in colon cancer (DCC) immunoglobulin subfamily and is required for CNS and motor axon guidance, Cell, 87, (2), 1996, p197 - 204 Journal Article, 1996 DOI

Mitchell, K.J., Doyle, J., Tear, G., Serafini, T., Kennedy, T.E, Tessier-Lavigne, M., and Goodman, C.S. , Genetic analysis of growth cone guidance at the midline in Drosophila: expression and function of D-Netrin., Society for Neuroscience Abstract, 24th Annual Meeting, Society for Neuroscience., 1994, pp1064 Meeting Abstract, 1994

Foreword in, editor(s)D. Hitchens and J. Birnie , The Competitiveness of Industry in Ireland, Avebury, Aldershot, 1994, ppxi-xiv , [Mc Aleese, D.] Book Chapter, 1994

Sharp, P.M., and Mitchell, K.J, Corynebacterium glutamicum arginyl-tRNA synthetase, Molecular Microbiology, 8, (1), 1993, p200 Journal Article, 1993

Selective use of termination codons and variations in codon choice in, editor(s)D.L. Hatfield, B.J. Lee, and R.M. Pirtle , Transfer RNA in Protein Synthesis, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 1992, pp395 - 420, [2. Sharp, P.M., Burgess, C.J., Cowe, E., Lloyd, A.T., and Mitchell, K.J] Book Chapter, 1992

Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications

Mitchell, K.J., World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics, 2004, - Miscellaneous, 2004

Finucane C, Corvin A, Newell FN, Mitchell KJ, Synaesthesia in the Irish population: Phenotypic characteristics and familiality, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART B-NEUROPSYCHIATRIC GENETICS, SEP 15, 130B, (1), 2004, pp60 - 60 Meeting Abstract, 2004

Mitchell, K.J., Genetics Department, Cambridge University, January, 2003 Invited Talk, 2003

Mitchell, K.J., Symposium on Genomics and Proteomics, University College Dublin , June, 2003 Invited Talk, 2003

Mitchell, K.J., At symposium 'Wiring the Brain', Edinburgh University , April , 2003 Invited Talk, 2003

Mitchell, K.J., Biology Society seminar series, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Nov, 2003 Invited Talk, 2003

Mitchell, K.J., Department of Anatomy and Human Genetics , Oxford University , May, 2003 Invited Talk, 2003

Mitchell, K.J., Zoology Department, Trinity College Dublin, Oct. , 2002 Invited Talk, 2002

Mitchell, K.J., MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King"s College, London, July , 2002 Invited Talk, 2002

Mitchell, K.J, Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre, St. James"s Hospital, Dublin , Nov. , 2002 Invited Talk, 2002

Research Expertise

Projects

  • Title
    • Variation in the frame rate of visual perception: testing at the margins of human ability
  • Summary
    • Some animals see the world faster than others. That is, the frame rate of vision varies considerably across species. This is related to how fast they have to move in the world and therefore has important functional and ecological consequences. Humans on average see the world at 36 "frames per second", but this trait varies substantially between individuals and we know nothing about how normal variation might affect performance. This phenomenon can be measured using techniques such as Critical Flicker Fusion threshold, which measures the frequency at which a flickering stimulus can no longer be detected as such. We aim to develop robust psychophysical methods to reliably measure those differences in field conditions outside the laboratory and quantify the magnitude of variation within and among individuals. We will assess the real-world consequences of this variation in an arena where human perceptual abilities are tested to the limits and where small individual differences may make the difference between success and failure, namely in high-speed sports. This work will provide a foundation to explore wider questions: is the hypothesised advantage due to selection or training? What is the trade-off in ecological and evolutionary terms that determines perceptual frame rate? How heritable is this trait? And what are the underlying brain mechanisms? This project offers training from a collaborative team with expertise in perception, decision-making, genetics, neuroscience, ecology, and evolution. Depending on the candidate, this project has relevance to sports science, robotics and artificial vision, and in virtual and augmented reality.
  • Funding Agency
    • Provost's PhD Project Award
  • Date From
    • Sept 2020
  • Title
    • Science Foundation Ireland Investigator Grant
  • Summary
    • "Molecular genetic analyses of thalamocortical connectivity" €802,000
  • Funding Agency
    • SFI
  • Date From
    • 2010
  • Date To
    • 2015
  • Title
    • Science Foundation Ireland Investigator Grant
  • Summary
    • "Cortical connectivity, from genes to behaviour" €250,000
  • Funding Agency
    • SFI
  • Date From
    • 2008
  • Date To
    • 2009
  • Title
    • Health Research Board Project Grant
  • Summary
    • "Semaphorin and plexin genes in the etiology of epilepsy". €298,000
  • Funding Agency
    • HRB programme
  • Date From
    • 2007
  • Date To
    • 2010
  • Title
    • Science Foundation Ireland Research Frontiers Grant
  • Summary
    • "Chemical genetic dissection of transmembrane semaphorin signaling in the CNS". Collaboration With Dr. Isabella Graef, Stanford University. €192,837
  • Funding Agency
    • SFI
  • Date From
    • 2007
  • Date To
    • 2010
  • Title
    • Wellcome Trust Project Grant
  • Summary
    • "A comparative functional genomic screen for novel axon guidance molecules in fly and mouse". With Dr. Guy Tear, King's College London. Total: €594,027. To Trinity College Dublin: €334,516
  • Funding Agency
    • Weelcome Trust
  • Date From
    • 2005
  • Date To
    • 2008
  • Title
    • EMBO Young Investigator Programme Award
  • Summary
    • "The genetics of brain wiring in mice and men" €45,000
  • Funding Agency
    • EMBO
  • Date From
    • 2004
  • Date To
    • 2007
  • Title
    • Health Research Board Ph.D. Training Site Grant
  • Summary
    • "Integrative Neuroscience at Trinity College, Dublin". One of nine co-applicants ~€900,000 over four years.
  • Funding Agency
    • HRB
  • Date From
    • 2004
  • Date To
    • 2008
  • Title
    • Health Research Board Project Grant
  • Summary
    • "A multidisciplinary study in the Irish population of the phenotypic characteristics and familiality of synaesthesia" €165,000.
  • Funding Agency
    • HRB
  • Date From
    • 2004
  • Date To
    • 2006
  • Title
    • Health Research Board Project Grant
  • Summary
    • "The role of the transmembrane semaphorin Sema6A in axon guidance in the mammalian brain." €165,000.
  • Funding Agency
    • HRB
  • Date From
    • 2003
  • Date To
    • 2006
  • Title
    • Science Foundation Ireland Investigator grant
  • Summary
    • "The genetic basis of brain wiring in mice" €1,750,000.
  • Funding Agency
    • SFI
  • Date From
    • 2002
  • Date To
    • 2007

Recognition

Awards and Honours

Summer Scholarship from the American Ireland Fund 1990

National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship 1992 - 1995

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship 1998

Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship 1998 - 2001

Wellcome Trust grant to fund the international conference 'Life and Death of the Brain' held in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. 1999

Science Foundation Ireland Investigator Grant (€1,690,000/ five years 2002-2007

2003-2005 Health Research Board Programme Grant (€164,000/ three years) 2003 - 2005

EMBO Young Investigator Programme Award 2004

Election to Fellowship, Trinity College Dublin 2009

Appointed as Affiliate Member, MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London 2010