The Keele Neuroscience and Neurology Group

The Keele Neuroscience and neurology group is composed of academics and clinicians that research a diverse range of neuro-related topics, including neuroprotection, neurodegeneration, cell signalling, inflammation, tissue engineering, biomaterials, neuroplasticity, cognition, traumatic injury, rehabilitation, psychology and neurosurgery. Through our national and international collaborations with academics, clinicians and industry, we conduct our research in pre-clinical models and patient populations to better understand how the central nervous system works and importantly, how it can be repaired.

Dr Chris Adams

Dr Chris Adams

I work within the Neural Tissue Engineering group at Keele (NTEK). My research has two main aims - (i) improving cell transplantation therapies for neurological repair and (ii) establishing reductionist injury models for benchtop testing of new neurological therapies. 

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Erminia Albanese

Erminia Albanese

Erminia studied Medicine and completed the training in Neurosurgery in Italy (equivalent to the M.B. Ch.B. and the FRCS). In 2009 she completed a research Fellowship in microneurosurgical anatomy at Mercer University, Georgia, USA.

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Dr Ali Aries

Dr Ali Aries

In an NIHR Clinical Academic Doctoral fellowship (2015–2018), I successfully developed standardised protocols, set up and ran a mixed-methods, randomized, blinded feasibility study exploring sensory stimulation to the foot post-stroke.

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Dr Melissa Bowerman

Dr Melissa Bowerman

I am a Senior Lecturer in Neuromuscular & Skeletal Disorders at the School of Medicine, a group member of the Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease in Oswestry and co-lead of the Keele University Neuroscience & Neurology research group.

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Dr Joe Brooks

Dr Joe Brooks

My research interests include visual perception and attention and the neural processes that give rise to them. In particular, my work focuses on perceptual organisation processes such as figure-ground organisation and perceptual grouping which play a role in determining the structure, shape, and depth that we perceive in visual scenes.

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Professor Divya Chari

Professor Divya Chari

Professor Divya Chari established the new Neural Tissue Engineering Keele Group and her laboratory develops novel tissue engineering approaches for neural regeneration, such as nanoparticle platforms for genetic engineering and imaging and biomaterials/functionalised nanomaterials for cell transplantation therapy.

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Dr Ruoli Chen

Dr Ruoli Chen

My research interests include hypoxia biology, stroke medicine and blood-brain barriers. In particular, my work focuses on pharmacological activation of hypoxia-inducible factor pathways in stroke therapy and prevention.

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Dr Muriel Desbois

Dr Muriel Desbois

I am a neuroscientist, geneticist and C. elegans researcher as well as a lecturer of Molecular Neuroscience at the School of Life Science.

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Dr Heidi Fuller

Dr Heidi Fuller

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 conditions, including muscular dystrophy, and spinal muscular atrophy.

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Dr Sue Hunter

Dr Sue Hunter

Dr Hunter's research involves the evaluation of complex interventions for people with neurological conditions, and exploring experiences of living with a long-term neurological condition.

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Dr Seema Kalra

Dr Seema Kalra

Research Interests: Neurological conditions, Neuro-inflammatory conditions, Multiple Sclerosis; Clinical, Applied, and Translational Research.

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Dr Dmitry Kishkinev

Dr Dmitry Kishkinev

My research studies how migratory animals find their way to destinations travelling large distances, and which natural cues and senses help animals orient and navigate. Behavioural responses of different animals to magnetic stimuli clearly show they possess a magnetic sense but how it works remains poorly understood.

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Dr Ella Maysami

Dr Ella Maysami

I have experience in clinical research (prospective) and translational neuroscience (drug discovery) where two of my postdoctoral works have now completed phase-II clinical trials towards the treatment of stroke and schizophrenia (Manchester, UK 2018 & 2019 respectively).

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Dr Claire Monroy

Dr Claire Monroy

I am a cognitive neuroscientist and a Lecturer at the School of Psychology. I am interested in how early sensorimotor experiences guide social and cognitive development in infancy and childhood.

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Dr Patricia Ragazzon

Dr Patricia Ragazzon

My research interests are based on discovery and therapeutic development. As a trained chemist, I have developed small molecules as well as aptamers for treating different conditions, including cancer, inflammation, and infection.

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Dr Jenny Shin

Dr Jenny Shin

I am a stem cell neurobiologist and a lecturer in Neuroscience at the School of Life Sciences. My research interest lies in identifying fundamental principles in cortical neuron development and processes altered in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders.

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Dr Simon Trent

Dr Simon Trent

Through previous positions (Cardiff) to my current Lectureship at Keele, I have developed expertise in behavioural and molecular neuroscience. I utilise preclinical, genetic models of psychiatric illness to provide translatable, clinical insight into debilitating human psychiatric illnesses such as autism and schizophrenia.

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