Neuroscience

Image: A blooming bud

This is a three-dimensional image of mouse vagal ganglia which have been labelled with three different markers of neurons, chemically treated to become transparent and imaged at a confocal microscope. The neurons and nerve fibres which are embryologically derived from a special group of cells called neural crest are labelled with green fluorescent protein. Two other subtypes of vagal neurons and their fibres are labelled with red and far red (pseudo-coloured as magenta here) fluorescent proteins.

Credit: Dr Aung Aung Kywe Moe
There's no doubt this is one of the most exciting times to be working in discovery neuroscience. The ground-breaking discoveries we make today will underpin the new treatments of tomorrow, advancing human health and allowing us to reach new frontiers.

Dr Song Yao, Academic Theme Lead 

Dr Andrew Jobling, Deputy

Unravelling the complexities of the nervous system through the study of genes, cells and neural circuits.

How is blood pressure controlled and maintained? How do we regulate breathing, the urinary tract, feeding or digestion? What about changes in genes, synapses or nerve cell insulation that cause neurological diseases? How does the nervous system enable us to detect, interpret and experience the world around us and within us?

We employ state-of-the-art experimental and computational methods to advance understanding of:

  • The causes of hypertension and heart failure
  • Obesity and type-2 diabetes
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Neuropsychiatric disorders
  • Dysfunctions of the urinary, reproductive, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems
  • Ocular development
  • Retinal function
  • How the brain then interprets sensory stimuli to produce adaptive behaviours

We have established links with clinicians, pharmaceutical companies and bioengineers. Our goal is to develop novel ways to target the nervous system through pharmacological, bioelectric or genetically-targeted therapies to treat chronic neurological and life-threatening conditions.