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Steve Alexander (Endogenous cannabinoid system, with particular focus on inflammation and pain).
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Steve Briddon (Molecular Pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors and advanced fluorescence imaging).
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Angus Brown (Brain metabolism, ion channels, potassium buffering).
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Meritxell Canals (G protein-coupled receptor signalling and drug-screening with a focus on inflammation and pain).
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Victoria Chapman (Lipid mediators of inflammation, the endocannabinoid system, and mechanisms in osteoarthritic pain).
- Kim Chisholm (Neuroscience, microscopy, neurophysiology, spinal cord, brain, pain, in vivo, chronic pain). My research focuses on a better understanding of nervous system networks and their changes during states of chronic pain. I am particularly interested in changes in the peripheral nervous system which may drive central sensitization (a crucial player in chronic pain) and changes in spinal cord networks which may underpin different symptoms in chronic pain.
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Federico Dajas-Bailador (Neurons, RNA, Translation, miRNAs, neurodegeneration, pain)
- Claire Friel (biochemistry, biophysics, proteins, cytoskeleton, cell division, neurodegeneration, microscopy, optical trapping). Research in the Friel lab utilises fundamental biomolecular insights to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular systems and disease. We have a focus on the dynamics and regulation of cytoskeletal filaments. Using advanced biochemical and biophysical approaches, we seek to elucidate the core molecular principles governing filament function and connect these findings to complex cellular processes such as cell division and nervous system function.
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Gareth Hathway (Pain, neuroinflammation, brain, spinal cord, cancer, opioids, childhood, neural networks, analgesia). How does cancer treatment affect the developing brain? And how can we better protect children and adolescents from the long-term neurological consequences of both disease and the medicines used to treat it? Our research group investigates how cancer and its treatment shape the developing nervous system, with a particular focus on pain, cognition, anxiety, and brain function across childhood and adolescence. Although survival rates for pediatric cancers have improved.
- Ian Kerr (ATP binding cassette transporters, membrane protein expression and purification, transmembrane transport, enzymes in pain processing, paediatric brain tumour cell biology, extracellular vesicles).
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Madeleine King (Neuropharmacology, drug discovery, drug delivery, schizophrenia, depression, autism, stress, behaviour, gut microbiome-brain axis).
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Helen Knight (Genetic and epigenetic processes contributing to neurodevelopmental and cognitive disorders).
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Rob Lane (Neuropharmacology of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) function and signalling).
- Ian Mellor (Ion channel pharmacology and electrophysiology, naturally occurring neurotoxins and pesticides targeting ion channels). My research is focused on several important ion channels of the nervous system including nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, ionotropic glutamate receptors, voltage-gated sodium channels and TRP channels, and how their functioning is modulated by a variety of naturally occurring animal and plant toxins, drugs and pesticides. These compounds are excellent tools to study the structure and functioning of ion channels but also represent leads for the development of new drugs and pesticides. We are also trying to understand the molecular basis of pesticide susceptibility and resistance in target pests and toxicity to non-target organisms, including humans. Specific current interests are peptide toxins from centipede venom, alkaloids from ladybirds, polyamine-containing toxins from solitary wasps and pyrethroid insecticides. I am also interested in the development of multi-target directed ligands for Alzheimer's disease, in my case assessing their ability to inhibit NMDA receptor mediated calcium current that can lead to excitotoxicity.
- Chloe Peach (receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signalling, studying how they are modulated by growth factors, drugs or their local microenvironment, with a focus on neuronal regeneration). Despite major advances in our understanding of human biology, over 90% of drugs fail in patients. Many drugs target receptors, as membrane proteins that detect extracellular stimuli and evoke intracellular responses. RTKs are a family of 58 membrane proteins that respond to growth factors. These large ligands trigger signalling cascades that lead to cell proliferation, avoidance of cell death and initiation of migratory processes. They are therefore major targets in the field of oncology, however RTKs have wide-reaching pathological implications. Neurotrophins, for example, are a family of growth factors that stimulate neuronal growth. These growth factors, as well as their receptors, are promising targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease (agonists) or chronic pain (antagonists), however they lack clinically approved drugs.
- (spinal cord, sensory systems, pain, neurophysiology, disinhibition, synaptic plasticity). I am a new Assistant Professor at the School of Life Sciences. I completed my PhD at Laval University in Canada and continued my worked in Marseille and Oxford to pursue my interest on the mechanisms by which the spinal cord selects somatosensory information relevant for navigating the natural world, in both normal and pathological conditions.
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Sebastian Serres (metabolism, brain, imaging, astrocyte, tracer).
- Graham Sheridan (Ageing; Alzheimer’s disease; Cancer related cognitive impairment; Mechanobiology; Myelin repair; Neurogenesis; Neuroinflammation; Synaptic plasticity). My research investigates how ageing, neuroinflammation, and immune dysfunction disrupt key physiological processes in the brain, including neurogenesis, myelin repair, and synaptic plasticity. Focusing on disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer related cognitive impairment, I study the molecular mechanisms that alter neuron–glial communication, impair myelination, and reshape the synaptic proteome. The overarching goal is to uncover the cellular and molecular drivers of maladaptive plasticity and to identify new drug targets that can promote repair and regeneration of the central nervous system after injury or in disease. In parallel, I collaborate with experts in mechanobiology and biomaterials to understand how changes in the mechanical properties of brain tissue and the extracellular matrix influence neuronal plasticity and glial cell behaviour. By integrating bioengineering principles with cellular neuroscience, our aim is to pinpoint druggable biomechanical and neurochemical pathways that can restore synaptic function, support neural repair, and improve cognitive health in neurological conditions that currently lack effective treatments.
- Paul Smith (Patch-clamp, electrophysiology, pharmacology, ion channels, physiology, electrochemistry, sympathetic, white fat adipocytes, pancreatic beta-cell). I’m fascinated by how cells work: how their behaviour is shaped by the electrical language of ion channels. My primary focus is the membrane membrane physiology of white adipocytes, especially during the hyperplasia and hypertrophy that accompany weight gain and obesity. I am also interested in how their extracellular matrix controls the ion flux and membrane potential of this cell type. I am also exploring how lipophilic molecules—ranging from therapeutic drugs to persistent “forever chemicals”—are stored, mobilized, and ultimately influence adipocyte function.
- Daniel Scott Utilising iPSC models we study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Motor neurone diseases.
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Joern Steinert (Neurodegeneration and neuropathology research and principal mechanisms of in synaptic signalling in health and disease with focus on oxidative stress and nitric oxide).
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Maria Toledo-Rodriguez (Epigenetic mechanisms underlying the positive effects of exercise).
- Rebecca Trueman (Myotonic Dystrophy; RNA repeat expansion disorders; Drug discovery). My research group investigates the pathological mechanisms of myotonic dystrophy, with a particular focus on developing novel therapeutic approaches and on understanding how this disease impacts the brain. Combining neuroscience, cell biology and translational medicine, we aim it have in impact on patients lives.
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Uwe Vinkemeier (Neuroimmunology and cytokine-regulation of STAT transcriptional activity in the immune system).