Hello! I am a developmental neurobiologist currently undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience as a member of the Harwell Lab in department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.
I have previously completed a PhD in the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at Cardiff University. Before that I completed an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Bournemouth University before moving on to King's College London to complete an MSc Neuroscience in Developmental Neurobiology.
My overall interests lie in the role epigenetics in the development of the brain and understanding what goes wrong in developmental disorders, particul autism and intellectual disability. I also have a strong interest in coding and data science, and have moved towards using molcular biology and bioninformatics in understanding transcriptional regulation of brain development.
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My main interests lie in neurodevelopment and neurodevelopmental disorders. As I specialised my MSc degree towards developmental neurobiology, I was able to gain indepth knowledge in the processes involved in the development of the CNS and what goes wrong in disease.
I am particularly interested in the cross diagnostic features, including epigenetic (see below), neurotransmitter, and excitation/inhibition imbalance, of various devleopmental disorders including Autism, Schizophrenia, and ID. I would like to devote my research into elucidating mechanisms of this shared pathogenesis using both behavioural and molecular techniques in tandem with high-throughput methods. I am particularly interested in the use of animal models of pathogenesis but would like to couple this with future IPSC disease modelling.
A key feature of the molecular pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders I am interested in is the epigenetic/epitransciptional changes involved. This includes deciphering the role of histone modifiers in the development of various different disorders, such as the role of EHMT1 in neurodevelopmental disorders- my PhD project.
In particular I am interested in developing an overarching framework of “epigenopathies” in neurodevelopmental disorders and in particular intellectual disability. The role of these epigeneopathies can also help elucidate mechanisms of "synaptopathies" and "rasopathies" often associated in developmental disorders such as ID.
Impairment in cognition is a key cross diagntostic feature in many neurodevelopmental disorders. I am interested in using behavioural assays in animal models in both baseline conditions and experimental modifications to assess the role of various genetic and epigenetic components. I have a particular interest in changes to learning and memory, as well as executive funtctioning. This includes molecular changes such as altered adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and altered cell type ratios.
I am using a genomic, cellular and animal model approach to elucidate the role Ehmt1 haploinsufficiency. Ehmt1 mutations and deletions have been associated neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, intellectual disability, and developmental delay.
The behavioural phenotype of the mouse model is characterised using assays including learning and memory tasks such as novel object recognition and 5-choice serial task, as well as paradigms developed to discern anxiety phenotypes: elevated plus maze, locomotor activity, and acoustic startle response.
Molecular and cellular techniques used to discern the effect of Ehmt1 haploinsufficiency used include: in vivo quantification of proliferation and survival of cells in the dentate gyrus using BrdU and immunohistochemistry; primary cell culture isolation of P7 hippocampal cells to discern survival, proliferation, and phenotype of the cells in vitro. Finally, high throughput sequencing (RNA-seq) is being performed to carry out functional enrichment and gene set enrichment analyses for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Degree specialisation in developmental neurobiology, Independent research project on: “Role of Teneurins in the Formation of the Hippocampus and Visual System.”
This project involved using a Ten-m3 gene-trap line, and Thy-1GFP reporter mouse lines to identify and characterise Ten-m3 expression patterns in the development of the hippocampus and retina. I provided the first quantification for previous qualitatively described pattern of expression in the retina, corresponding with gradients of Ten-m3 expression in visual cortex, and superior colliculus.
Using Thy1-GFP reporter line, I showed a similiar gradient of expresssion of Ten-m3 in the hippocampus and knock-out of the protein lead to the misplacement of cell bodies in CA1 region, suggesting a function in the normal topography of hippocampus. Due to the known roles of ten-m3 in axon guidance and synaptic targeting in the development of other neural pathways, I proposed a similar conserved function within the hippocampus.
Final year dissertation: “Investigation of the Biological Mechanisms behind the Coupled Epigenetic Down- regulation Of RELN and GAD-1 in Schizophrenia.” This project investigated the epigenetic mechanisms behind RELN and GAD-1’s down-regulation to gain an understanding behind the mechanisms involved, along with the extent of penetrance the downregulation of these two genes have in schizophrenia.