Caroline Brennan
Lecturer in Molecular Genetics

caroline

I did my PhD at King's College London in the Lab of Prof J.M. Littleton working on adaptive mechanisms underlying drug dependence. I demonstrated adaptive changes in the number of DHP sensitive VOCC following chronic exposure to central depressant drugs and showed that these changes were associated with genetic vulnerability to drug dependence.

I undertook post-doc training at the Clinical Research Centre Harrow, UK before joining the laboratory of Prof Nigel Holder at The Randall Institute, KCL and moving with him to UCL in 1998. Whilst at KCL and UCL I used zebrafish as a genetic model system for analysis of mechanisms underlying development.

Since 2000 I have been a Lecturer in Molecular Genetics in the School of Biological Sciences QMUL. Our work combines the two areas of my expertise: Molecular mechanisms underlying drug dependence and zebrafish as a developmental genetic model system. We have developed behavioural assays of drug seeking, compulsive drug seeking and relapse in zebrafish and are establishing lines of fish in which to explore the genetics contributing to these behaviours.

Matt Parker
Post-Doc

matt

I completed my PhD at Southampton University in 2008, where I explored the behavioural phenotypes associated with crib biting in horses. Since then I worked at the Royal Veterinary College on a project examining the welfare problems of pigs and chickens associated with intensive farming systems. I joined QM in Jan 2011, where I am working with Dr Caroline Brennan on an NC3Rs grant developing behavioural assays to identify genetic mechanisms underlying compulsive drug seeking and vulnerability to drug abuse.

Mollie Millington
Research Technician

mollie

I received my BA in biology with a concentration in marine science in 2001 from Boston University. After working at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and the University of Rochester, in Rochester, New York, I began a graduate program at Michigan State University (MSU), in East Lansing, Michigan. In 2008, I received my Masters degree in Zoo and Aquarium Management. While at MSU, I was an active member of the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group. My most recent post was working in a microbiology lab at MSU, working with B. anthracis under Dr. Stephen Cendrowski. Over the course of my career, I have held positions at New England Aquarium, Alaska SeaLife Center, Potter Park Zoo, and Mystic Aquarium. My main research interests are in animal welfare and wildlife disease.

Fraser Combe
Zebrafish Facility Manager

fraser

I graduated from University of Wales Bangor, 2007 in Bsc Marine Biology/zoology from where I was a technician for 3 years at Manchester Metropolitan University department of animal behavior looking at mating tactics and reproductive success in social cichlids and social interactions within leaf cutter ant colonies.

In 2011 I graduated MSc Conservation Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University where I researched the impact of Environmental quality on population genetics and its ability to effect population viability and survival using an indicator species Gammarus Pulex. I joined QMUL in 2010 as the Zebrafish Facility manager under Caroline Brennan and Rachel Ashworth looking at zebrafish as a model organism for the measure of drug dependency, and the role of calcium signaling on muscle and nerve development.

Matteo Baiamonte
PhD candidate

matteo

I did most of my studying in my home country of Brazil. At the age of 18, I moved to London, where I got my A-levels from ICAS, and my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at Queen Mary University of London. I am currently doing a PhD studentship at the same institution, in the area of Neurobiology and addiction.

Alistair Brock
PhD candidate

alistair

I studied for my undergraduate degree at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in genetics. It is during this time I took an interest in how genetic variability could influence complex disorders. I carried out a six-month project at the Roslin Institute investigating genetic markers associated with altered susceptibility to disease in pigs. Ultimately however, my interest lies in the role of genetics in drug dependence, which is what brought me to London.