We are pleased to announce three new UK DRI Emerging Leaders: Dr Maura Malpetti, Dr Anna Mallach, and Dr Valeria Jaramillo.
The Emerging Leader programme was first established in 2021, to support highly achieving early career researchers moving towards setting up an independent laboratory. Emerging Leaders are recognised for their growing research experience, and ability to secure an external fellowship. The researchers are each sponsored and hosted by a UK DRI Group Leader.
I am thrilled to welcome our three new Emerging Leaders to the programme. Since it was established, the Emerging Leader programme has already proven to be pivotal in nurturing the next generation of scientific leaders, and I look forward to seeing what Maura, Anna and Valeria achieve with the support of the programme. Congratulations, all! Dr Jo Latimer, UK DRI Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Maura Malpetti joins the programme sponsored by Prof Sir David Klenerman. Maura is a Race Against Dementia Alzheimer's Research UK Fellow, working on markers of inflammation, tau, and synapse loss, to investigate the role of neuroinflammation in frontotemporal dementia and other related conditions. The Malpetti Lab uses advanced imaging techniques, as well as fluid biomarkers, to identify and validate early signs of disease in people with these conditions, in order to develop new treatments.
Find out more about Dr Maura Malpetti
Dr Anna Mallach joins the programme sponsored by Prof Paul Matthews after having been awarded a Edmond J Safra Research Fellowship. Anna’s interests lie in understanding how miscommunication between the support cells of the brain, such as microglia and astrocytes, contribute to Parkinson’s. The Mallach Lab uses human stem cells, state-of-the-art spatial transcriptomics and advanced bioinformatic analysis in order to understand neurodegeneration.
Find out more about Dr Anna Mallach
Dr Valeria Jaramillo joins the programme after becoming a Wellcome Trust Early Career Award Fellow, sponsored by Prof Derk-Jan Dijk. The Jaramillo Lab will focus on discovering the mechanisms by which rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – the stage of sleep in which vivid dreams occur – contributes to cognition by performing multimodal assessments. Valeria’s research aims to define how REM sleep promotes brain and body health, and how it can be improved using non-invasive neuromodulation approaches to enhance cognition in ageing and dementia.
Find out more about Dr Valeria Jaramillo
The three new Emerging Leaders join the existing cohort to make a total of 13 researchers currently in the programme. Read more about the initiative here.
Article published: 11 September 2024
Banner image: UK DRI Ltd.
