Dr Gerrit Hilgen

Associate Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

Dr Hilgen’s research focuses on neuronal signal processing, imaging, and scientific computing, particularly in the mature and neonatal retina. This includes working with induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) retinal organoids, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and human retinas, as well as their relationship to health and disease. His lab is involved in various projects, including studies on retinal function and circuitry, restoring vision, investigating hypersensitivity to evening light in patients with bipolar disorder, examining the effects of folate on eye health, and understanding ocular channelopathies in the RPE.

Dr Hilgen is the lead for the Cellular and Molecular Science, Food and Nutrition research theme and the tissue culture labs in the School of Geography and Natural Sciences.

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Key Publications

Investigating light sensitivity in bipolar disorder (HELIOS-BD), Roguski, A., Needham, N., MacGillivray, T., Martinovic, J., Dhillon, B., Riha, R., Armstrong, L., Campbell, I., Ferguson, A., Hilgen, G., Lako, M., Ritter, P., Santhi, N., von Schantz, M., Spitschan, M., Smith, D. 6 May 2024, In: Wellcome Open Research
Connexin45 colocalization patterns in the plexiform layers of the developing mouse retina, Hilgen, G. 1 Aug 2023, In: Journal of Anatomy
A novel approach to the functional classification of retinal ganglion cells, Hilgen, G., Kartsaki, E., Kartysh, V., Cessac, B., Sernagor, E. Mar 2022, In: Open Biology
Transplanted pluripotent stem cell-derived photoreceptor precursors elicit conventional and unusual light responses in mice with advanced retinal degeneration, Zerti, D., Hilgen, G., Dorgau, B., Collin, J., Ader, M., Armstrong, L., Sernagor, E., Lako, M. 1 Jul 2021, In: Stem Cells
How Does the Inner Retinal Network Shape the Ganglion Cells Receptive Field? A Computational Study, Kartsaki, E., Hilgen, G., Sernagor, E., Cessac, B. 10 May 2024, In: Neural Computation

Professional Activity

Oral presentation: BACELL 2026: Understanding Bacillus spore interactions with textiles. 2026
Invited talk: Induced pluripotent stem cell derived-Retinal Pigment Epithelium of AMD displays physiologically relevant voltage-gated sodium channel expression 2025
Oral presentation: Understanding Bacillus spore deposition on textiles (11th European Spores Conference) 2025
Oral presentation: Understanding Bacillus spore interactions with textiles (Microbiology Society 2025) 2025
Editorial work: PLoS One (Journal) 2022
Invited talk: DFG Research Training Group Seminar (University of Oldenburg, Germany) 2021
Invited talk: TM Science Group Meeting (University of L’Aquila, Italy) 2021
Oral presentation: Anatomical Society Winter Meeting (Newcastle University, UK) 2021
Invited talk: Periodic Patterns Workshop, Physics of Life (Oxford/ �ֲ��ý��Ƶ) 2021
Invited talk: A novel approach to the functional classification of retinal ganglion cells 2020

PGR Supervision

Emily Flood ??A feast for the eyes? Investigating the influence of folate on retinal health? Start Date: 01/10/2023
Molly Rowland Channelomics of the aging eye Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025
Molly Rowland Channelomics of the aging eye: investigating the role of voltage-gated sodium channels in age-related macular degeneration Start Date: 01/10/2023
Emily Flood A feast for the eyes? Investigating the influence of folate on retinal health Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025