About
I am an early career researcher (ECR) who has already demonstrated research excellence in a unique area of Aquaporin biology not only skeletal muscle biology but the ageing field. My skillset is a core priority for UK science, using both in vivo studies in combination with imaging, biosensors and bioinformatic analyses. I have used some of the most cutting edge approaches and models to study neurodegeneration in the PNS and have found a novel way to examine a major pathway responsible for the redox signalling in skeletal muscle that has the potential to later be targeted for therapeutic interventions which could help address the urgent societal need for sarcopenia prevention, this work was recently funded a BBSRC Responsive Mode grant (Researcher Co-I due to PDRA status). The same fundamental signalling pathway is imperative for all cell types that are susceptible to oxidative stress and aquaporin modulators are already showing promise for cerebral edema and other neuropathological conditions. This is an avenue I am now further exploring with colleagues within the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences and other across faculty and NHS trusts. For this aspect of my research I am fortunate to have the support of external international collaborators Professor Roslyn Bill (Aston University/Estuar Pharma) and Professor Richard Robitalle (Montreal) and am actively pursuing fellowships application in a range of areas across the aquaporin biology, ageing and neuromuscular field.
More recently, I was the PI in reciept of funding supported generously by the MNDA association and MyNameSDoddie Foundation, this work is for a project titled: Repeat Physical Traumas an initiator for motor neuron disease (MND): an insight from professional rugby. This work is led by myself, Professor Graeme Close (Human physiology At Liverpool John Moores University https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-science/sport-and-exercise-sciences/graeme-close ), Professor Anne McArdle (University of Liverpool) and Dr Carolyn Young (Consultant Neurologist at Walton Centre https://ukmndri.org/team/carolyn-a-young/).
I am also part of a wider team conducting neuropharmacology studies studying cardiovascular physiology, using electrophysiology and assessing ion channel function in non-human animals. This work has been funded by several BBSRC Japan Partnership awards with Professor Yoichi Ueta at The University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yoichi-Ueta) . Here we focusessed on both experimental and mathematical modelling approaches to understand diseases associated with ageing in transgenic mouse models, especially diseases associated with cardiovascular control in the PVN.
Prizes or Honours
- PDRA of the Year 2022 (ILCAMS, 2022)
- University Staff Awards Unsung Hero 2022 – Commended (University of Liverpool, 2022)
- • Anne Vaughan-Thomas Prize Research Excellence 2019 (ILCAMS, 2019)