I began my study of the brain at the University of Aberdeen where I investigated signalling mechanisms in the rat hypothalamus under the supervision of Prof Peter McCaffery. Additionally, during my time at Aberdeen I was awarded a summer studentship from the University’s development trust to work on new tools for Neuroscience teaching with Dr Derek Scott. Following this I returned to my hometown of Edinburgh to complete a Masters degree in Integrative Neuroscience. During this time I worked in the lab of Dr Ian Duguid and became interested in neural circuits controlling behaviour. Specifically I investigated how noradrenaline neurons innervating the primary motor cortex are arranged and how they contribute to behavioural output from the cortex. I then relocated in Exeter to begin a PhD project in the lab of Dr Kate Ellacott looking at mechanisms underlying the brain's control of food intake, specifically communication between neurons and glia.

I recently completed my PhD, funded by the MRC GW4 BioMed Doctoral Training Partnership supervised by Dr Kate Ellacott, Prof Tony Pickering and Dr Craig Beall. My work aimed to examine the role of glial cells in the brain's control of food intake. Feeding is regulated by the coordinated action of a number of different brain regions which sense cues from the body about energy state. Predominantly research in this field focuses on neurons, examining stimuli they respond to, projection patterns and their behavioural effect. Recently a role for glial cells in feeding circuits has begun to be appreciated. Using a combination of chemogenetics, in vivo behavioural assays, electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry I demonstrated that astrocytes in the brainstem are dynamically regulated by food intake and their activation serves to reduce food intake. This advances our understanding of how glial cells respond to changes in food intake and whether they relay information to neurons and/or influence feeding behaviour.

I have stayed in the lab to work as a postdoctoral research associate using similar methodology to investigate the role of astrocytes in brain circuits that monitor and regulate blood glucose.