Our Team

Marc Aurel Busche, M.D., Ph.D.

Principal Investigator, UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London

Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, QueenSquare National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

Orcid

Education

EMBO Long-Term Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School.
Clinical Residency in Psychiatry, University Hospital Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Munich.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Neuroscience, Munich.
M.D./Ph.D., Medical Life Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich.

Awards

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
AD/PD Junior Faculty Award
Kurt Kaufmann Prize
GSK Award for Clinical Research
EMPIRIS Award, Felgenhauer Award
Hans Jörg Weitbrecht Prize
Hans Heimann Prize

Samuel Harris, Ph.D.

Research Fellow

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Previous Employment

Locum editor/editor, Biomed Central (Springer Nature), London.
Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield.
Postdoctoral Research Associate (secondment), Health Economics and Decision Science, School of Health and Related Research , University of Sheffield.
Joint postdoctoral position, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield & Department of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, USA.
Clinical Autonomic Scientist, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH.

Education

Ph.D. Neuroscience, University of Sheffield.
MSc Medical Physics, University of Surrey.
BSc Physics with Astronomy, University of Southampton.

Awards

Co-investigator on Eisai / UK DRI Research Programme on Dementia grant entitled: ‘Longitudinal monitoring of neurovascular dynamics in models of neurodegeneration’.
Co-investigator on MRC – KHIDI UK-Korea Partnering Award entitled: ‘Integrating multimodal imaging technologies to investigate neurovascular dysfunction in neurological disorders’.
Co-investigator on Epilepsy Research UK project entitled: ‘How activation of sensory regions can promote propagation of adjacent focal neocortical seizures’.
Exceptional Contribution Award for sustained research excellence (University of Sheffield).
Exceptional Contribution Award for research excellence (University of Sheffield).
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ‘Pathways to Impact’ bursary for Science Communication.
Gold CREST (CREativity in Science and Technology) Award from the British Science Association.

Current Work in Our Lab

In addition to being involved in all aspects of the day to day management of the laboratory and staff training, I am also engaged in research examining neurovascular circuit dynamics in translational models of neuro-degenerative diseases, through the development and application of cutting-edge multi-modal imaging and electrophysiological techniques.

“Seizure epicenter depth and translaminar field potential synchrony underlie complex variations in tissue oxygenation during ictal initiation”

Rikesh Rajani, Ph.D.

Research Fellow (joint with Carlo Frigerio’s Lab)

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Previous Positions

Postdoctoral Researcher, INSERM Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris.
Joint Research Fellow, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde

Education

Ph.D. Regenerative Medicine, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh.
MA Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge.

Awards

UK DRI Pilot Studies Programme Award 2020
Association CADASIL France Prize 2018

Current Work in Our Lab

My work looks at the contribution of non-neuronal cell types to Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, with a focus on oligodendrocytes and the vasculature. This work involves studying these cells in vitro and in vivo to test hypotheses generated using single cell RNA sequencing of human tissue.

“Reversal of endothelial dysfunction reduces white matter vulnerability in cerebral small vessel disease in rats”