Biography
I started my academic career by studying Psychology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Very much fascinated by biological pathways in disease development, I went on to do a MSc in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, focusing on biochemical underpinnings of neurological disorders. I completed my MSc thesis with Prof Bill Colledge at the University of Cambridge, and then completed my PhD in Prof Anna William's group at the University of Edinburgh, investigating the mechanisms of vascular dementia. I am currently working in Prof Williams group as a Clinical Research Training Fellow.
Research interest
During my PhD, I have focused on finding novel therapeutic targets for vascular dementia, focusing on targeting endothelial cells in the blood-brain barrier. For this, I reverse translated the clinical LACI-2 trial to a rat model of small vessel disease, to better understand the mechanisms of the drugs used in the LACI-2 trial. I am particularly passionate about translational research, bridging clinical and preclinical research approaches.