Remya Raghavan Nair

I have completed my PhD studies under the supervision of Prof Kalervo Hiltunen, University of Oulu, Finland. My PhD project focused on studying the physiological roles of mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis, using mouse and yeast models. To build more experience in neurodegenerative diseases, I joined as a postdoc in Prof Lizzy Fisher and Dr Thomas Cunningham’s lab at MRC Harwell Institute in September 2017.My main project was to generate a physiological mouse model to study the pathogenesis mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and / frontotemporal dementia (FTD) caused by mutations in C9orf72 gene.

I joined Prof Richard Wade-Martins lab in November 2021. My project aims to expand the understanding of mitochondrial homeostasis and mitophagy in primary neuronal and iPSC models of Parkinson’s disease. In addition, these studies will explore the effect of modulating mitophagy to develop novel therapies for Parkinson’s disease. This project runs in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb.