Heidi Fuller

Biography

Dr Heidi Fuller is a Senior Lecturer at Keele University and research group leader within the Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease, based at Keele’s partner site, the RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital.

Heidi received her first degree in Biomolecular Science at the University of Wales, Bangor, and during her second year was awarded a North West Wales NHS-funded research scholarship under the supervision of Professor Michael Doenhoff. She then completed an industry-sponsored PhD studentship at the University of Wales, North East Wales Institute, where she developed expertise in proteomics technology, under the supervision of Professor Glenn Morris. Following a period of postdoctoral research within the NHS focused mainly on neuromuscular disorders and proteomics technology, Heidi joined Keele as an independent Research Fellow in 2013 and as a part-time Teaching Fellow in the School of Medicine in 2014. In 2016, she was appointed as a Lecturer in the School of Medicine and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2019. From 2016 – April 2021, Heidi was the Course Director for the Masters in Medical Sciences programmes within Postgraduate Medicine.

In April 2021, Heidi was appointed as Dean of Education for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and looks forward to supporting the Faculty to achieve its education-related goals.

Research and scholarship

Research theme: Cardio-Respiratory, Neuroscience & Neurology

Dr Fuller’s research group is based at the Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease (RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital), where they focus on several of the most severe muscle-wasting diseases, including muscular dystrophy, and the childhood form of motor neuron disease, spinal muscular atrophy. By combining the use of cutting edge proteomics and bioinformatics tools with biochemical approaches their aim is to understand disease mechanisms and to identify novel proteins and pathways that can be modulated by drug treatment.

External collaborators include:

• Prof Tom Gillingwater (Edinburgh University, UK)
• Prof Kevin Talbot (Oxford University, UK)
• Dr Gillian Hunter (Glasgow Caledonian University)
• Dr Tom Wishart (The Roslin Institute, Edinburgh)
• Dr Dhruv Sareen (Ceders Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles)
• Prof Goran Simic (University of Zagreb, Croatia)

Funded projects (current):

Joint Sparks and GOSH Charity National Funding (UK) 
Therapy development for childhood motor neuron disease
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant)

Keele University 
Funding for 3-year PhD studentship
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant)

Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, UK 
Omics-assisted drug discovery for childhood motor neuron disease
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant)

Spinal Injuries Fund, RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital (UK) 
A Systems Biology Approach to Identify Prognostic Indicators and New Targets for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
Awarded to Karina Wright (Principal Applicant) and Heidi Fuller (Co-applicant)

Keele University 
Funding for 3-year PhD studentship
Awarded to Monte Gates (Principal Applicant) and Heidi Fuller (Co-applicant)

Arthritis Research (UK) 
Individualisation of biological therapies for osteoarthritis – understanding and reducing failures. Awarded to Karina Wright (Principal Applicant), and co-applicants Sally Roberts, Heidi Fuller and James Richardson.

Funded projects (completed):

The SMA Trust (UK) 
Two-year Career Development Fellowship: The molecular consequences of reduced SMN in iPS-derived human motor neurons
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant)

Henry Smith Charity (UK) 
Identifying and Quantifying Growth Promoting Signals in the Developing Spinal Cord
Awarded to Monte Gates (Principal Applicant) and Heidi Fuller (Co-applicant)

RJAH Charitable Funds (UK) 
Anti-epileptic drugs and bone loss
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant), and co-applicants Mark Garton & Glenn Morris

Henry Smith Charity (UK) 
Identifying and Quantifying Growth Promoting Signals in the Developing Spinal Cord
Awarded to Monte Gates (Principal Applicant) and Heidi Fuller (Co-applicant)

RJAH Institute of Orthopaedics (UK) 
Human stem-cell-derived motor neurons for testing potential therapeutic pathways in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), using both targeted and proteomic approaches
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant).

RJAH Institute of Orthopaedics (UK), Childwick Trust, and Lord Leverhulme’s Charitable Trust(UK) 
Nutritional protection against neurodegenerative disease
Awarded to Heidi Fuller (Principal Applicant).

North Staffordshire Medical Institute (UK) 
Identification of biomarkers using mass spectrometry
Awarded to Paul Roach (Principal Applicant), Heidi Fuller (co-applicant), et al.

RJAH Institute of Orthopaedics (UK) 
Funding awarded to support the service contract of the 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometer. Awarded to Glenn Morris (Principal Applicant) and Heidi Fuller (co-applicant).

Teaching

Dr Fuller regularly supervises research students from the School of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering.

Previous teaching roles include:

Director for the Masters in Medical Science (MMedSci), School of Medicine (2016 – 2021)

MMedSci dissertation module lead (2013 – 2019)