Our Lab
The Team
Prof. Amrit Mudher BSc DPhil SFHEA
Professor of Neurosciences, Senior Fellow HEA
(1996) BSc (Biomedical Sciences), King’s College, University of London
(1998) DPhil (Neuroscience), Merton College, University of Oxford
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I have a long-standing interest in understanding the causes and consequences of tau-mediated toxicity and its contribution to dementias. I have employed several experimental paradigms to study this, including rodent models of tauopathy during my DPhil in the laboratory of Prof. Hugh Perry, at the University of Oxford, cellular models during my post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Sir Simon Lovestone at the Institute of Psychiatry and now Drosophila models of tauopathy. I have used these models to dissect disease mechanisms and identify therapeutic targets. More recently these studies have become more interdisciplinary and translational to acquire a greater molecular understanding of the amyloidosis of tau and to leverage this knowledge to develop more sensitive and discriminatory diagnostic biomarkers.
Dr. George Devitt BSc MRes PhD
ARUK Research Fellow at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust Visiting Fellow at the University of Southampton
(2013) BSc University of Bath
(2015) MRes University of Bath
(2020) PhD University of Southampton
(2021) EPSRC Research and Commercialisation Fellowship
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My work forms part of an interdisciplinary research project between the University Hospital Southampton (Christopher Kipps) and the University of Southampton, Biological Sciences (Amrit Mudher) and Chemistry (Sumeet Mahajan). I am primarily interested in developing and administering spectroscopic techniques to improve diagnosis for people living with dementia.
As a team, we are also interested in the biophysical properties of tau conformers and how these can be targeted by novel tau-specific therapeutics, as well as how these conformers relate to disease progression.
We want our research to deliver real-world healthcare benefits and have a positive impact on society.
Dr. Miguel Ramirez-Moreno BSc Mres PhD
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
(2011) BSc Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
(2012) MRes Cell and Molecular Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
(2017) PhD University of Southampton
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I am a postdoctoral researcher working on a project that aims to decipher the propagation of pathological Tau across neurons and the associated cellular mechanisms. I started my position at the Mudher Lab in October 2022, returning to the University of Southampton where I previously earned my PhD in Dr Herman Wijnen’s Lab (2013-2017). Prior to my current position, I worked as a postdoc in the laboratories of Dr Natalia Bulgakova and Professor David Strutt at the University of Sheffield. During that time, I investigated various dynamic processes in the developing fly wing, including the modulation of cell-cell adhesion and the interaction between the cytoskeleton and epithelial planar polarity.
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My career has primarily focused on the genetic targeting of specific cell types to evaluate their role in developmental processes, circadian behaviour of the adult organism, and Tauopathy progression. Since 2013, I have utilized Drosophila as a model organism, taking advantage of the diverse toolkit available to gather insights into cellular processes and characteristics. In addition to employing both classical and state-of-the-art genetic techniques, I possess extensive expertise in image analysis.
Dr. Lovesha Sivanantharajah PhD
​Senior Research Fellow at the Alzheimer’s Society
(2005) BSc Honors Genetic
(2013) PhD Molecular Biology
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Dr Lovesha Sivanantharajah is an Alzheimer’s Society Junior Fellow based at Bangor University (Wales). She completed her PhD in Molecular Biology and her BSc in Honours Genetics at Western University (Canada).
Her current research focuses on dissecting why neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease target specific brain regions. Using a fly model, she is working to identify nerve cell-types that are differentially affected by the disease-causing protein, tau.
Dr. Amber Cooper MRes PhD
Research Assistant
(2017) BSc Biomedical Sciences, University of Southampton
(2020) MRes Advanced Biological Sciences, University of Southampton
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(2026) PhD University of Southampton
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In 2021, I obtained a Master of Research in Advanced Biological Sciences from the University of Southampton. During this time, under the supervision of Amrit Mudher, I investigated the relationship between type-2 diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, I characterized how insulin-mediated changes influence Tau phosphorylation profiles. Continuing my interest in Alzheimer’s and Tau pathology my doctoral research is centred around using human Tau-expressing Drosophila melanogaster aiming to investigate Tau gene structure:function relationships and how mutations within the Tau gene underpin Tau-mediated dysfunction and neuronal degeneration. This will provide a greater understanding of why familial FTD-MAPT dementias incur such significant heterogeneity in clinical and neuropathological profiles between diseases.
Yongrui Zhang
PhD Student
(2022) MSc Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular, University of Oxford
(2022-Present) PhD, University of Southampton
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I obtained my Master degree in biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular) in University of Oxford in 2022. And now, I’m a second-year PhD student in Professor Mudher’s group. One of the most possible causes of Alzheimer’s disease is the aggregation of Tau protein, which is a microtubule-binding protein in cells. So, one of the potential directions to treat the Alzheimer’s disease is to inhibit the aggregation of these proteins. And the aim of my PhD project is to test the inhibitory efficiency of a such inhibitor RI-AG03.
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RI-AG03 is a short poly-peptide chain designed against one of the two sequences in Tau which are necessary for its aggregation. This polypeptide chain may cap this sequence and prevent it from functioning during the aggregation process. During my project, I will test the inhibitory efficiency of RI-AG03 both in vitro and vivo. Several different models including Drosophila melanogaster expressing human full-length Tau and modified HEK cell lines.
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At the end of the project, important conclusion about whether RI-AG03 can be used as a potential treatment for the Alzheimer’s disease can be achieved. The outcome of this project can also provide a detailed understanding of the inhibitory mechanism of RI-AG03.
Ray Price BSc
PhD Student
(2023) BSc (Zoology), University of Southampton
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I am a Zoology BSc graduate from Southampton University, class of 2023, currently pursuing a PhD in neuroscience. Under the supervision of Prof. Amrit Mudher, my research is centered on using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to investigate the underlying mechanisms of Perioperative Neurocognition Disorder (PND) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs).
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My PhD project involves a detailed exploration of the neuropathological pathways in Drosophila, with a specific focus on the genetic and molecular aspects that parallel human conditions. The use of Drosophila is pivotal in my research due to its genetic accessibility and significant homology with human neurological pathways, allowing for the dissection of complex neurobiological processes in a controlled environment. Another key aspect of my research is the screening of lipid-based therapeutics, which have emerged as potential modulators in neuroprotection and recovery post-brain injury.
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By integrating advanced genetic manipulation techniques and lipidomic profiling in Drosophila, I aim to identify novel lipid compounds that can mitigate the effects of PND and TBIs. This research not only contributes to the fundamental understanding of neurodegenerative processes but also opens avenues for the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
Aran Mohan MSc
PhD Student
(2021) BSc Biomedical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
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(2022) MSc Clinical Neurosciences, University College London
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I started my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Amrit Mudher in 2023 with a focus on exploring the propagation of tau in various tauopathies using Drosophila melanogaster as models to help elucidate mechanisms and neuronal pathways of tau spread in patients.
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My interest in tau developed during my MSc research project which focused on using biochemical techniques to compare seeding and propagation of a highly aggressive strain of corticobasal degeneration using htau mouse models. This led me towards my PhD in Prof. Mudher’s lab in which I am using genetic techniques to study and compare different phenotypes inducing tau propagation in Drosophila through imaging.
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I hope this will provide insight into decoding propagation of many proteinopathies and the spread of pathology in tau related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s.