Fernandes Group

To address this, we are currently focusing on the role of lipids on the regulation of selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease using human iPSC-models, genetic CRISPR screens and single-cell multi-omics analyses.

FUN Lab

Fundamental

Understudied

Neurodegeneration

Lab

Lipid homeostasis is essential for cellular function. Lipids are fascinating and complex molecules that represent over 50% of the adult human brain dry weight, and are dysregulated with ageing and dementia. However, the impact of lipid alterations in human neurons in dementia is still poorly understood. Supported by our recent findings that challenge previous concepts in the field, we hypothesize that lipids are key driving factors in dementia-associated neuronal loss.

The goal in our lab is to identify novel disease targets that could lead to effective therapeutic interventions to improve patients' quality of life.  We use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to establish advanced neuronal models of disease (disease-in-a-dish) to identify and modify the early mechanisms of cellular dysregulation.

Current projects in our lab are focused on:

• Understanding impaired lipid metabolism in dementia. Exploring the molecular mechanism underlying lipid perturbations in neuronal models of dementia in the context of selective neuronal vulnerability. Focus on cholesterol biosynthesis, Lipid Droplet homeostasis and fatty acid metabolism.  
• Novel drivers of neuronal resilience. Identification of novel genes that mediate neuronal vulnerability and resilience using arrayed and pooled CRISPR screens (genome-wide and targeted libraries).  Particular focus on lipid dysregulation, ER stress and lysosomal function.
• Functional cellular heterogeneity. Dissecting neuronal diversity and heterogeneity in neurodegeneration at scale, by developing and implementing a range of high-throughput and deep phenotyping tools including single-cell lipidomics and single-cell transcriptomics.

GET IN TOUCH AND JOIN US!

We are strong advocates for interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts as the path for innovation and cutting-edge research. Get in touch if you would like to discuss possible collaborations, if you would like to join our team or simply chat about exciting research ideas! We welcome motivated students and postdocs who share our research passion. See below for current open positions to join our Team.

POSTDOCS

We welcome talented potential postdoctoral researchers with plans to secure fellowship funding to pursue work in our lab. Please send a CV, a brief statement of your research interests, and contact information of 3 people  familiar with your research background to hugo.ribeirofernandes@dpag.ox.ac.uk

PhD STUDENTS

We are keen to recruit talented PhD students to join our group. Please get in touch if you are interested in exploring research opportunities and have concrete funding plans. Prospective PhD students should also apply to one of the relevant doctoral programme at the University of Oxford, including:

Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics DPhil 

DPhil in Neuroscience

DPhil in Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Science 
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MSc PROJECTS & UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

We welcome applications from undergraduate students and Master students looking to perform their dissertation project in our lab.

OPEN POSITIONS:

Postdoctoral Researcher in Lipid Metabolism in Alzheimer’s Disease  - join us for a fantastic opportunity in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Cambridge, funded by the BrightFocus Foundation   

Apply here by the 17th of August 2026

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSM517/postdoctoral-researcher-in-lipid-metabolism-in-alzheimers-disease 

Previous Group Members

• Ilgin Sezer (MSc student, University of Oxford, UK)
• Monica Belles Fernandez (MSc student, Maastricht University, Netherlands)
• Giselle van Zon (MSc student, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
• Maja Freudstein (MSc student, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
• Lorenzo Neri (Visiting PhD student, University of Florence, Italy)
• Marialuisa Testa (Visiting PhD student, Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Italy)
• Jatin Sharma (MSc student, University of Bremen, Germany)

Funders