GSK

Parkinson's UK

Rosetrees Trust

Dementia Discovery Fund

AstraZeneca Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme (Neuroscience)

Michael J Fox Target Advancement Program Grant

Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC)

My work is primarily on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines. The Oxford Parkinson’s disease Centre (OPDC) has generated a wide-range of iPSC lines from genetic and idiopathic cases of Parkinson's and from healthy controls.My lab differentiates these lines into cell types of interest and utilise them to better understand cell function and dysfunction in Parkinson's. My labs main interests lie in:

NEURON-GLIAL COMMUNICATION & SUPPORT IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE

Parkinson’s research is centralised on the idea of finding ways to understand dopamine neuron degeneration and to prevent their loss. While much research is focused on dopamine neurons themselves, it is important to note that they do not exist alone in the human brain and receive and require many signals and molecules for support and function from other cell types, most importantly astrocytes. However, the exact mechanisms of communication between these two cell types in the human brain & whether these signals are supportive or destructive in neurodegeneration is poorly understood. Therefore, my laboratory group will be focused on developing simple & complex microfluidic co-cultures of human iPSC-derived neurons & glia to understand communication between these cell types in health and neurodegenerative disease. The aim being, to understand whether a lack of glial support or active destruction is contributing to neuronal loss in neurodegeneration and to find ways in which we can boost or inhibit these signals to therapeutically promote neuron survival.

We highly support cross-discipline projects and collaboration, so please do get in touch.

Current team:

Dr Nancy Ahuja (Postdoctoral Researcher)

Ms Akansha Mehta (Research Assistant)

Co-supervision:

Dr Elena Britti (Postdoctoral Researcher)

Ms Nicole Li (Research Assistant)

Mr Kayomavua Akpobaro (DPhil Student)

Ms Parnaz Sharifi (DPhil Student)

Originally from Sydney, Australia, I completed a PhD, in the Parkinson’s disease (PD) and neurogenomics lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. In 2015 I moved to Oxford University to undertake a postdoctoral position in the Wade-Martins lab, working on projects understanding the molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models funded by the MJF Foundation and AstraZeneca. In 2023, I was the first recipient of a new jointly funded Senior Research Fellowship from Parkinson’s UK & Rosetrees Trust which allowed me to develop my research interests in using iPSC dopamine neuron and astrocyte models to validate novel NRF2 therapeutics in Parkinson’s.

The Oxford-GSK IMCM Fellowship is an exciting opportunity to independently build my own research group and expand on the techniques I have developed. My research interests lie in the areas of complex iPSC co-culture methods, more specifically, on modelling the interaction of dopamine neurons and astrocytes in neurodegeneration. Additionally, i am interested in the downstream validation of new Parkinson's-related targets and the repurposing of compounds which interact with these targets for their therapeutic potential.

Tutor in Biomedical Sciences St Catherine's College

Lecturer in MSc Neuroscience & Undergraduate Medicine Courses