Lisa's Lab Book

Last week we went to Tuebingen, Germany to visit Dr Julia Fitzgerald and Dr Layla Drwesh at the Hertie Institute of Brain Research. Katie Mortimer and Rachel Cruickshank were there for the whole week to generate data and collaborate on various overlapping areas of interest. We plan to continue work together in the fields of Parkinson's disease, Psychiatric illness and Alzheimer's disease.  Tuebingen is a perfect city for biochemists to visit since it was here that 'nuclein' (DNA) was first isolated by  Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher, published in 1871. Coincidentally, his research was primarily based on Haemoglobin....we visited the lab, which was in the kitchen of the castle and saw numerous artefacts from that time. Katie took some nice photos of our visit. from the left - Katie, Rachel, Layla, Me and Julia. Alois Alzheimer did some of his medical training at Tuebingen University. In the DNA lab...the window is 'frosted' with 96 well plates!  Layla visited u...

Katie's review is now published in Frontiers in Psychiatry 

Epigenetic networks and ageing in 348 mammalian species...including our bats!

 

  Well here we are...in some car park area outside the graduation hall. Just like Brad's PhD... starting in the year 2019/20... it's not ideal, but we made it work! Delighted to have been able to see Brad graduate and to meet his family yesterday! These occasions are the absolute highlight of my academic life - Thank you!

Last week I went to Texel in the Netherlands to visit Suse Kuehn, we met on the RV Polarstern last year. Suse was one of the bird and mammal survey team on borad. While on the ship we had discussed old birds and how they sometimes received ringed birds that could be quite accurately aged. Then towards the end of last year an exceptionally old Northern Fulmar showed up on one of their beaches. A beachcomber handed it in to Suse and she contacted me. Suse and colleagues examine found dead birds for plastic content in their stomachs, she is based at Wageningen University Research Institute. I also met her PhD supervisor Jan who is now officially retired but helps with the bird studies...and is also perpetually 'on duty' at Ecomare the island's rehabilitation and wildlife education centre. It was a really interesting visit and I discussed collaboration possibilities with Suse and other ecologists.  

  Megan Barnes' project is looking at mitochondria in stickleback fish from different populations found in North Uist (the Galapagos of stickleback biology). I got the chance to spend a few days there last week. We spent the days looking for fish in various lochs and scrambling up and down the marshy banks covered with heather. It is beautiful there with extensive views in every direction. We saw Hebridean sheep, Red deer, short-eared owls, great black backed gulls, heard cuckoo and caught fish (and the occasional eel!). Afternoons and evenings were spent examining embryos resulting from crosses set up in the dining room which had been converted into a lab. many thanks to Andrew McColl for the invitation, I enjoyed every moment.