Professor Vasso Episkopou

Translational research addressing major challenges in neuroscience

Research in the Division of Neuroscience addresses mechanisms that underpin nervous system functions and diseases. Investigators in the Division are exploring these through combinations of neurophysiological, anatomical, molecular, cellular and computational approaches, using pre-clinical models and in clinical studies.

The integration of research groups of the UK DRI Centre at Imperial into the Division, as well as close collaborations with investigators who are part of the Division of Clinical Neurology, reflects the commitment of the Division of Neuroscience to combine mechanistic with translational research. Disease areas that currently are the focus for these more fundamental mechanistic investigations include Alzheimer’s disease and other late-life dementias, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, glioblastomas, neurodevelopmental disorders and nerve and spinal cord injury.

Research areas and groups include:

  • Neuronal circuitry and its plasticity in health and disease
  • Cellular clocks in the brain
  • Mitochondria neurobiology
  • Neurodevelopmental biology
  • Molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of ageing and neurodegeneration
  • Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neuroinflammation
  • Regenerative mechanisms in nerve and spinal cord injuries
  • Neuro-oncology
  • Gene therapy for brain diseases
  • Bioinformatics for neurobiology
  • Brain Tumour Research Centre

Research leads