Dr. Heckert’s interest in biomedical research began as an undergraduate at the University of Montana, where she studied phosphorylation of viral proteins under the guidance of Dr. Kenneth Watson. In 1983, after receiving her B.A. in Chemistry, Dr. Heckert joined the laboratory of Dr. Barbara Wright at the University of Montana. In 1986, she received a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry for studies on the purification and kinetic characterization of the TCA cycle enzyme alpha ketogluterate dehydrogenase from the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum.
In1991, Dr. Heckert received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Washington State University under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Griswold. Her doctoral dissertation examined the structural organization of the gene for follicle stimulating hormone receptor and the expression of its mRNA. These studies formed the basis of many additional experiments on transcriptional regulation of the FSHR gene that have provided insight into both cell-specific transcriptional events and mechanisms that control the FSH response in the gonads.
In 1992, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio to join the laboratory of Dr. John Nilson at Case Western Reserve University. As a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Nilson’s laboratory, Dr. Heckert researched the regulation of the gonadotropin hormones and was supported by a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health. Her studies focused on the mechanisms that control transcription of the gene encoding the human alpha subunit, the common subunit to all three glycoprotein hormones. In 1996, Dr. Heckert joined the faculty of the Department of Molecular and Integrated Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and in 2002, she was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.
Dr. Heckert is recognized for her many contributions to the field of molecular endocrinology and gonad development. Her laboratory focuses on understanding the transcriptional and cell-signaling processes that are important for gonadal function and development. The major projects in the laboratory strive to understand the regulation and function of three proteins essential for gonad development and function.
These are the FSH receptor (FSHR), a protein expressed only in somatic cells of the gonads, steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1), an orphan nuclear receptor required for gonad and adrenal formation, and Dmrt1, an evolutionarily conserved gene important for testis differentiation. Dr. Heckert’s employs both molecular biology and whole animal approaches to understand key features of gene regulation and protein function.
Dr. Heckert’s research is currently funded by three grants from the National Institutes of Health. She supervises the training of two graduate students and a postdoctoral fellow. In 1999, Dr Heckert was the recipient of the Investigator Research Award from the University of Kansas Medical Center and in 2000, the Madison and Lila Self Faculty Scholarship for research and mentoring from the University of Kansas.
She teaches transcriptional regulation, reproductive biology, and male endocrinology to graduate and medical students and is currently on the editorial boards of Molecular Endocrinology and Journal of Andrology. Dr. Heckert has been a member of two NIH/NICHD U54 review panels and an ad hoc member of the NIH Biochemical Endocrinology study section. She is also the current director of the DNA sequencing core for the Center of Reproductive Sciences.
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