Race Against Dementia and Barbara Naylor Charitable Trust Fellow
University of Warwick, UK
Dr Emily Lane-Hill studied Medical Genetics at the University of Leicester, moving on to the University of Warwick for her BBSRC funded PhD in neuroscience. Awarded a Race Against Dementia Fellowship in 2021, she is collaborating with world-leading dementia biomarker experts at the University of Gothenburg.
Emily is the co-lead of the neuroscience research cluster and chair the SLS PostDoc Society at the University of Warwick. She is an associate fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies and an active member of the ARUK midlands network.
“My father has battled Parkinson’s disease for the last 15 years – I’ve witnessed the devastating effects that these complex disorders have on both patients and their families. I am excited to contribute to solving the big puzzle of dementia.”
Dr Emily Lane-Hill
Emily’s research
Emily is investigating tau protein and how it disrupts neurons in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Tau is highly expressed in brain nerve cells and helps maintain their correct shape. In Alzheimer’s disease, tau molecules can misfold, join and form clumps. These early aggregates are thought to be amongst the most toxic forms of tau, disrupting the brain neuron function, even in the very early stages of disease.
Emily’s work has shown that tau can alter its function and the way it communicates with neurons. Emily is exploring why. She uses a highly specialised method which records the function of a one single neuron at a time, challenge each one with tau aggregates to look at changes in function. Detailed computational modelling then predicts underlying mechanisms.
