Nikhil Thapar
Nikhil Thapar undertook his undergraduate medical training, incorporating an intercalated BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Southampton University, qualifying in 1993 with distinction honours in both. He went on to complete his MRCP and postgraduate training in paediatrics in the Wessex region, and in 1998 was awarded a place on the National Treasure specialist scheme to train in Paediatric Gastroenterology in London. In 2001, he was awarded a research training fellowship from the CORE charity (formerly Digestive Disorders Foundation) to commence a PhD programme at the London National Institute for Medical Research under the supervision of Dr Vassilis Pachnis, an eminent scientist in the basic science of neurogastroenterology. The PhD, which studied the biology and therapeutic potential of Enteric Nervous System stem cells, was awarded by the University of London in 2004. He was then immediately selected for a highly prestigious post in the Clinician Scientist scheme being run by the Institute of Child Health. In 2006, he entered the specialist register with dual accreditation in Paediatric Gastroenterology and General Paediatrics, and was appointed as honorary consultant in Paediatric Gastroenterology at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. Dr Thapar now runs a specialist clinical service for children with congenital and acquired gut motility disorders. The pathogenesis and treatment of this group of disorders remains his main research focus.
Research interests:
- Molecular mechanisms in the normal and aberrant development of enteric nerves and muscles
- Harvesting and utilization of human enteric nervous system stem cells as therapies for congenital and acquired enteric neural disorders
- Gut tissue engineering as a potential therapy for disorders characterized by inadequate functional gut (intestinal failure)
- Mechanisms underlying gut inflammation in children with disorders of the enteric neuromusculature
Publications:
Burns AJ, Thapar N, Barlow AJ. 'Development of the neural crest-derived intrinsic innervation of the human lung'. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2008; v 38, no 3, pp 269-75.
Bondurand N, Natarajan D, Barlow A, Thapar N, Pachnis V. 'Maintenance of mammalian enteric nervous system progenitors by SOX10 and endothelin 3 signalling'. Development 2006; v 133, pp 2075-86.
Burns AJ, Thapar N. 'Advances in ontogeny of enteric nervous system development'. Neurogastroenterol Motil 2006; v 18: pp 876-87.
Thapar N, Sanderson IR. 'Diarrhoea in children – an interface between developing and developed countries'. Lancet 2004; v 363: pp 641-53.
Bondurand N, Natarajan D, Thapar N, Atkins C, Pachnis V. 'Neuron and glia generating progenitors of the mammalian enteric nervous system isolated from foetal and postnatal gut cultures'. Development 2003; v 130: pp 6387-400.
