Catherine Abbott

Last updated

Catherine Abbott
Alma mater University of Reading
Spouse
​
(m. 1993)​
Scientific career
Fields Molecular genetics
Institutions University of Edinburgh
University College London

Catherine Abbott, Lady Bird is a professor of molecular genetics at the University of Edinburgh.

Contents

Education

Abbott completed her BSc degree in 1983 at the University of Reading. [1] She earned a PhD in biochemical genetics from the University of Reading and the Medical Research Council from Harwell in 1987. [2]

Research

After her doctorate, Abbott joined University College London as a postdoctoral researcher working on mouse models of human diseases at a molecular level. [3] She moved to Edinburgh to work in the human genetics unit of the Medical Research Council and then as a tenured academic at the university. [3] [4]

Abbott is a geneticist who studies a strain of mice that develop an early onset of motor neuron disease. [5] The gene that was mutated in the strain of mice was eEF1A2, which is also present in neurodevelopmental disorders. [3] She is also interested in what makes motor neurones particularly vulnerable to stress in comparison to other cells in the body, with a focus on making them more robust. [5] Abbott is developing new models of motor neuron disease to identify new targets for treatments. [6] [7]

The eEF1A2 gene is mutated in some people with autism and epilepsy, and Abbott's lab are modelling the changes to find out why. [8] [9] [10] She keeps a lab blog, where they document the important gene mutations they have discovered so far. [11] She is interested in CRISPR/Cas Tools for gene editing. [3]

Abbott is a campaigns for diversity within the sciences, and has led the Athena SWAN applications at the University of Edinburgh. [12] [13] [14] [15] She is a member of the British Neuroscience Association. [16] She is on the panel for the funding panel for the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research. [17] She is the Associate Editor for ACS journal Chemical Neuroscience. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ "Catherine Abbott - Edinburgh Research Explorer". www.research.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Professor Catherine Abbott". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Researcher in Spotlight – Cathy Abbott – The Patrick Wild Centre". patrickwildcentre.com. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Cathy Abbott -Centre for Molecular Medicine-Research In A Nutshell- MRC Institute of Genetic and Molecular Medicine-12/07/2012". Media Hopper Create - The University of Edinburgh Media Platform. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 The Euan MacDonald Centre. "Professor Cathy Abbott". www.euanmacdonaldcentre.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "New Model for MND". www.mndscotland.org.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. ↑ MND Scotland (23 August 2017), Prof. Catherine Abbott on creating a new MND model , retrieved 15 April 2018
  8. ↑ "Home: Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain". www.sidb.org.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Cathy Abbott – The Patrick Wild Centre". patrickwildcentre.com. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "A day in the life of Cathy Abbott". www.muirmaxwellcentre.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "eEF1A2 and epilepsy". eEF1A2 and epilepsy. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Researcher Spotlight: Dr Martyn Pickersgill". Wellcome Trust Blog. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Equality & diversity". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Athena SWAN Silver Awards for Edinburgh Clinical Medical School and Dick Vet". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "About Athena SWAN". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Edinburgh Neuroscience Day 2018". www.bna.org.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Funding Panel membership". www.nc3rs.org.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Editors- ACS Chemical Neuroscience". pubs.acs.org. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
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