Walifa Waqar

Fuelled by deep fascination with biological research, I completed my undergraduate studies in Applied Biosciences at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Pakistan, where I also earned a Master's degree in Healthcare Biotechnology. My growing passion for Neuroscience, particularly Parkinson’s disease, inspired me to pursue a second Master's degree in Neuroscience, through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree program (Neurasmus). As part of the program, I conducted my thesis at the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bordeaux, where I focused on the anatomo-functional characterization of a specific sub-population of dopaminergic neurons projecting to the central extended amygdala. Following this, I worked as a Research Engineer at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris, investigating the mitochondrial deficits and phenotyping characteristics in newly developed mouse models of Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental disorder (OCNDS). In October 2024, I joined Cragg Lab as a DPhil student. My research focuses on the role of astrocytes in striatal circuit and their modulation of dopamine signalling in both, health and Parkinson’s disease.