Overview

I completed my Bachelor’s degree at the University of Bath, which involved a year spent working in research abroad; I spent six months in the Department of Structural Biology at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee (purifying Frizzled protein in order to characterise its use in Wnt signaling) and six months in the Department of Pharmacy at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia (researching the treatment of cardiovascular disease using adenosine receptor agonists).

My current project utilises the skills I learnt during this period. I am currently interested in the cellular and molecular characteristics of Meckel-Gruber syndrome patient cells.

Broad research specialisms:

• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Biochemistry
• Genetics

Qualifications

2011-present – PhD. – Cell and Molecular Biology
2007-2011 - BSc. Biology with Professional Placement, University of Bath

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Research

Research projects

Project Title: The effects of MKS proteins on cytoskeletal organization and regulation

Supervisors: Dr. Helen Dawe

Funding Body: BBSRC

Project Description:
My work focuses on the severe, recessive genetic disease Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS), which is uniformly lethal in affected children due to developmental defects in the kidney and brain. I use a combination of classical cell biology, biochemistry, genetics and post-genomic technologies, with the intention of understanding the molecular aetiology of the disease. I’m currently studying the role of alterations to MKS-causative genes TMEM67 and TMEM216 in the organisation and regulation of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons.

Publications/Presentations:

Presented a poster at Actin 2012 and Actin 2013 in Bristol, and at Cilia 2014 in Paris.

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