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Researcher Society

About Us

Run by and for researchers, The DPAG Researcher Society aims to promote interactions between postdocs, research assistants and other research scientists to create a friendly network of skills and expertise and to welcome new researchers to the Department.

All researchers will be added automatically to a mailing list when they start to be kept up to date with events etc.

Researcher News

On the left is an example of data collected using a line-scan confocal microscope. A single line through the cell is scanned within repeatedly (ca. 500 times per second), and calcium indicator fluorescence is recorded. Time goes from top to bottom and the location along the cell length is left-to-right. When single sparks recruit further sparks, this can lead to the emergence of propagating calcium wave, as shown starting near the middle of the cell and propagating to the left. The right panel shows how SparkMaster 2 detects calcium sparks, miniwaves, and waves. For each of the recorded events, the software records numerous event properties, such as location, size, amplitude, dynamics of rise and fall of fluorescence to a spreadsheet, for further analyses.

Pioneering new software to analyse intracellular calcium signals

A collaborative team of UC Davis and University of Oxford researchers have developed an innovative new software tool – SparkMaster 2 – which will enable automatic analysis of calcium sparks which are known to cause cardiac arrythmias in a variety of disease settings. First and co-corresponding author Dr Jakub Tomek, who is a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellow based in DPAG's Zaccolo group, conducted this research as part of his fellowship year spent at UC Davis.

DPAG and Biochemistry inspire local children with second Science in the Park event

On Tuesday 25 July, more than 140 children together with around 60 parents and caregivers were treated to a thrilling variety of hands-on science activities in University Parks. ‘Science in the Park’ was run by DPAG’s Outreach and Public Engagement Working Group (OPEWG), in collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry, with 30 volunteers comprising research scientists, graduate students and professional services staff.

BHF Fellowship for Ian McCracken could pave the way to promoting blood vessel growth in heart attack patients

Congratulations are in order for Dr Ian McCracken, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Smart Group, who has been awarded an Immediate Postdoctoral Basic Science Research Fellowship by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). His fellowship project aims to improve understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the formation of the coronary vessels and reveal novel targets for future therapeutic strategies to drive neovascularisation.

Thamali Ayagama wins Physiology 2023 Poster Prize

Congratulations are in order to Dr Thamali Ayagama who has been awarded the Physiological Reports Poster Prize at Physiology 2023, The Physiological Society's premier Annual Conference.

Researcher Spotlight for South Asian Heritage Month: Dr Kalina Naidoo

South Asian Heritage Month, running from 18 July - 17 August each year, aims to commemorate, and celebrate, South Asian cultures, histories and communities, helping to spread awareness of the diverse heritage and cultures that continue to link the UK with South Asia. Here at DPAG, we are celebrating the stories that make up our diverse and vibrant community. Meet Dr Kalina Naidoo, a Postdoctoral Neuronal Cell Biologist working in the Wade-Martins Group based in the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery (Kavli INsD).

More News

Latest publications

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia with 1q21.1 deletion and duplication exhibit aberrant inflammatory response

Journal article

Singh T. et al, (2026), Genes and Diseases, 13

Injected extracellular vesicles and other nanoparticles hitchhike on erythrocytes and platelets from circulation towards organ clearance

Journal article

Pavlova S. et al, (2026), Extracellular Vesicle, 7

Movements During Intended General Anesthesia and Psychologically Traumatic Accidental Awareness: Explanatory Role of the "Efference Copy Network".

Journal article

Pandit JJ., (2026), Anesth Analg, 142, 909 - 916

Opioid-free vs. opioid-inclusive anaesthesia with or without regional anaesthesia for postoperative pain: a systematic review with network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Journal article

de Carvalho CC. et al, (2026), Anaesthesia, 81, 702 - 712

Combined middle meningeal artery embolisation and subdural evacuation port system drainage for chronic subdural haematoma: a systematic review, single-arm meta-analysis, meta-regression, and cost-benefit analysis.

Journal article

Nischal SA. et al, (2026), Clin Neurol Neurosurg, 264

Impaired glucose tolerance and mild diabetes induce β-cell dysfunction in mice.

Journal article

Haythorne E. et al, (2026), Nat Commun

The superior colliculus gates dopamine responses to conditioned stimuli in visual classical conditioning.

Journal article

Zhang Y-F. et al, (2026), Nat Commun

TBL1X/TBL1XR1 govern β-cell identity through a PAX6-containing gene regulatory network.

Journal article

Walth-Hummel AA. et al, (2026), Nat Commun, 17

Towards automated joint detection in sleep studies: bridging clinical insight and artificial intelligence.

Journal article

Dorier A. et al, (2026), Sleep

Somatic mosaicism in ALS and FTD identifies focal mutations associated with widespread degeneration.

Journal article

Zhou Z. et al, (2026), Nat Genet

More Publications