Biography
Shayne graduated from The University of Edinburgh with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology in 2026. During his undergraduate studies, he developed interests in vascular neuroscience and neurodegenerative disease through research spanning Parkinson’s disease, vascular biology, neuroinflammation, and Alzheimer’s disease. His previous work included developing neuronal models relevant to Parkinson’s disease, investigating vascular dysfunction in atherosclerosis, screening anti-inflammatory drug combinations in human glial models, and studying synaptic mechanisms of tau propagation in human post-mortem brain tissue.
Shayne joined the Translational CAA Research Lab in October 2026 as an Edinburgh Doctoral College Research Scholar. Working in collaboration with researchers at the University of Manchester, his PhD investigates how vascular amyloid-β drives vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switching and early dysfunction in cerebral amyloid angiopathy, integrating mechanistic in vitro models, human neuropathological analysis, and longitudinal in vivo imaging of calcium signalling and vasomotion to understand – and ultimately target – the early loss of vascular function.
Honours & awards
Shayne’s current PhD research is funded by the Edinburgh Doctoral College Research Scholarship, supporting his doctoral research in Clinical Brain Sciences at The University of Edinburgh.
Previous funding:
- British Pharmacological Society Vacation Studentship, 2025 – supported an undergraduate summer research project in Professor Patrick Hadoke’s laboratory.