Dora Group

I completed my research-based masters (MRes) in biomedical science at St George’s University of London in 2015, where I investigated genetic diseases of the heart using the zebrafish as a model. Following my MRes, I took up a position as a research assistant in the group of Associate Professor Mathilda Mommersteeg, at the University of Oxford. Over the course of this post I completed my DPhil under the supervision of both Associate Professor Mathilda Mommersteeg and Professor Paul Riley. At Oxford, I have investigated heart regeneration in the Mexican cavefish (Astyanax Mexicanus), introducing it as a new and unique model for heart regeneration. Following its introduction, I used the Mexican cavefish to investigate the metabolic fingerprint underlying cardiomyocyte proliferation during heart regeneration.

I was awarded a Novo Nordisk Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to work with Professor Kim Dora in the Department of Pharmacology and Professor Bill Haynes at NNRCO, starting in October 2021. The focus of my fellowship is to investigate microvascular contractile dysfunction that occurs in human coronary micro arteries. The project aims to use donor atrial and ventricular biopsies to link structure and function of micro arteries with the transcriptome and patient history to identify genetic targets associated with microvascular contractile dysfunction.