I’m Rashida, a PhD student in the lab of Prof Vincent Dion at the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) based at Cardiff University. I am also co-supervised by Dr Dayne Beccano-Kelly (UK DRI) and Dr Mariah Lelos in the Brain Repair Group (BRG). I hold a master’s degree in Neuroscience from King’s College London, where my research project focused on the role of sphingolipid metabolism in microglia with and without a TREM2 variant, and to establish a link between brain and bone pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease. Here, I developed skills in immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, virtual slide microscopy, and image analysis. I also hold a BSc(Hons) in Biology from the University of Lincoln, where my final year project studied the effects of inhibiting a bacterial autolysin found in E. coli on cell growth and division, allowing me to gain valuable skills and experience in various molecular and biochemical technologies such as bioinformatics, PCR and gel electrophoresis.

 

Currently, for my PhD project, I am investigating the impact of CRISPR-Cas9 in inducing the contraction of expanded CAG repeats in an in vivo model of Huntington’s disease, with the aim of utilising this gene-editing technique as a treatment strategy.