Hi, my name is Oly, I am a postdoc in the BRG. I lead on our stem-cell based projects, and most of my work focuses on the development, production and validation of our cell-based therapy for Huntington’s disease – where we are producing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for striatal transplantation. In addition to my core research, I am interested in advancing differentiation techniques to more accurately produce authentic cells from hPSCs, with the long-term goal of enhancing research and disease models and thereby therapeutic options.

 

I studied my first degree in Psychology at Aston University and was awarded the university prize for my dissertation research. I spent a year working as an assistant psychologist in an interdisciplinary neurological rehabilitation unit, and there I was inspired to pursue therapeutic avenues for sufferers of neurological damage. I then moved to Cardiff to begin my research career after I was invited to study on the prestigious Wellcome Trust PhD training programme. Here I chose to conduct my research within the Brain Repair Group, closely collaborating with the Williams lab, studying epigenetic memory in hiPSCs. During my PhD I co-founded a public engagement platform (the brain domain), which was awarded GW4 funding to host training for early career researchers. My first postdoctoral position in 2019 was with Dr Ben Newland where we explored the role of oxygen and glucose deprivation on neurons, relevant for neuro-transplantation therapies. I have since returned to the Brain Repair Group to continue working on cell therapies for Huntington’s disease. I have now been awarded over £500,000 in research funding, and been invited to speak about my work at major conferences within the field.