We are fortunate to have such a fantastic range of technicians working at the UK DRI on various research projects. Here you can view our current staff and their specialities and read our longer conversations about what it means to work as a technologist during this exciting time at the UK DRI.
A conversation with Uren Lab Manager Megan Winterbotham
A conversation with Lab Manager Megan Winterbotham about her role at the UK DRI and managing the exciting new facilities we have at the Sir Michael Uren Hub on the White City Campus.
Interviewed by UK DRI Project Officer Hannah Gowland
January 2023
Emily, Dorcas, Yuqian
Dr Emily Adair
Senior Research Technician
Lab: Paul Matthews
I specialise in transcriptomic technologies including: single nuclei RNA-sequencing (10x) and Digital spatial profiling (GeoMx)
Dorcas Cheung
Research Technician
Lab: Paul Matthews
I specialise in histology based methods such as immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and Imaging Mass Cytometry.
Levia Yee
Research Technician
Lab: Paul Matthews
I'm working on optimising novel spatial transcriptomic technique coppaFISH in human brain tissue to identify cell types compromised in neurodegenerative diseases.
Naz, Sandra, Devyani
Dr Nazanin Doostdar
Laboratory Manager
Lab: Sam Barnes
I lend my expertise in the development and optimisation of key in-vivo experimental techniques (surgical and imaging) and provide expert guidance on experimental design. I am also responsible for: equipment set-up and maintenance, management of experimental schedules across the lab, data storage, training students and staff on experimental techniques and data analysis, and liaising with support staff.
Sandra Diaz Clavero
Research Technician
Lab: Marco Brancaccio
I work with stem cells, specifically with neurons and astrocytes derived from hiPSC looking for a link between circadian rhythms and Alzheimer's Disease.
Katarina Gregorovicsova
Research Technician
Lab: Alexi Nott
My role involves characterizing risk variants in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease with a focus on epigenetic mechanisms.
How temperature and circadian rhythms intersect to regulate a protein shown to protect against neurodegeneration
A new study led by Dr Marco Brancaccio (UK DRI at Imperial) and Dr Marieke Hoekstra (former UK DRI at Imperial, now VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) offers a deeper insight into how a neuroprotective pathway is regulated both by temperature and the body clock. This research, published in the journal PNAS, could open up new therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative disease. Read more on the UK DRI website
Introducing Cynthia Sandor: Pioneering earlier detection of Parkinson’s
Dr Cynthia Sandor, former Emerging Leader at the UK DRI at Cardiff, joins the UK DRI at Imperial as a Group Leader, where she will be tackling early diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
With a background in genetics, Dr Sandor uses computational methods to bring greater understanding to the underlying molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s. Read more about Cynthia's work on the UK DRI website.
