Lancelot Millar

Jennifer Anne Millar

University of Oxford, BSc (Medical Sciences)

I begun my DPhil project with the Molnar lab in Autumn 2013. My research interests currently include reductionist mechanisms behind individual differences in cognitive parameters and neurodevelopmental disorders. I believe that detailed understanding of genetically defined subpopulations of neurons in the developing cortex and thalamus could provide much information towards these goals. I am currently continuing an existing project investigating the effect of monoccular enucleation in mouse on gene expression and electrophysiology of subplate and thalamic neurons. My research will focus primarily on the Lpar1/Edg2 expressing subplate and cortical interneurons which have a unique origin in the rostromedial telencephalic wall, making these good candidates for physiologically as well as genetically dicreet neuronal subtypes. In the long term, I hope to investigate possible parallels between the genes dysregulated by enucleation in mouse and genetic records of human cognitive disorders.

Prior to beginning my graduate studies, I received a first class honours degree in Medical Sciences from the University of Oxford as part of their preclinical medicine programme. My Final Honours research project was conducted under supervision of Professor Gero Meisenboeck in the CNCB in Oxford. The ongoing project is investigating genes which alter latency to make olfactory decisions in Drosophila melanogaster whilst maintaining decision accuracy.