Molecular Neuroscience
Group
Shining Light on Neurodegeneration
Welcome
We are an interdisciplinary group investigating molecules and mechanisms causing brain cells to die in different neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Huntington's disease.
For this we apply many cutting-edge tools ranging from atomic force and superresolution microscopy to microfluidics, multi electrode arrays and machine learning.
Lab News
Professor Gabriele Kaminski Schierle has been recently awarded the leading Sosei Heptares Prize by the British Biophysical Society
Our Research
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Advancing Neurodegenerative Research
By integrating state-of-the-art imaging, AI-driven analysis, stem-cell models, and electrophysiology, our research bridges fundamental science and clinical applications. Through strong global collaborations, we aim to accelerate the development of innovative therapies and diagnostic tools for neurodegenerative diseases.
For inquiries or collaboration opportunities, contact our research team.
Professor Gabriele Kaminski Schierle
Gabi is Head of the Molecular Neuroscience Group, Co-Director of the Cambridge Infinitus Research Institute, and Director of the Cambridge MPhil in Biotechnology.
She studied Biology at the Université de Fribourg, Switzerland, and completed her PhD in Medicine at Lund University, Sweden, where her research focused on neural transplantation in Parkinson’s disease.
Gabi went on to establish a leading centre applying state-of-the-art biophysical approaches to study the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases.
Our Members
Nino is Assistant Research Professor and initially joined the group in June 2021 on a career fellowship. He studied mechanical engineering and did his Ph.D. in acoustofluidics at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland). His expertise lies in the integration of microsystem technologies and optical microscopy to study neurodegenerative disease progression in cellular and whole-organism models.
Ana joined the group in 2017 and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate. With a background in Chemistry and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Granada, Spain, she uses diverse cellular models to investigate the mechanisms underlying brain development and neurodegeneration, with a particular focus on Parkinson’s disease at the cellular and neural network levels.
Janice is a first-year PhD student currently conducting research using brain organoids. She holds a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine from University College London (UCL) and has a background in next-generation sequencing (NGS).
Rohan joined the group in 2022 as a PhD student. His research focuses on growing human brain organoids to study the early developmental mechanisms of Huntington's disease, studying the structural, molecular, cellular and network changes that occur. This work builds the first, comprehensive study of Huntington's disease in neurodevelopment.
Jieni is currently studying how neuronal cell biology is affected by Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She is particularly interested in how calcium handling, mitochondria and autophagy are disrupted by a mutation in the protein called FUS. Jieni uses a combination of live and super-resolution imaging together and transcriptomics on human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived motor neurons.
Sulay is a 4th year PhD student in Biotechnology. His work focuses on studying the cell-type specific vulnerabilities and neuron-glia interactions in complex iPSC models including tricultures and organoids.
Josiah S. Riley is a 4th year PhD student, developing Graphene-based Micro-electrode arrays & in-vitro Optogenetic Set-ups towards early-stage neurodegenerative disease research.
Juliette is a first year PhD student working on an iPSC-derived midbrain dopaminergic neuron model of Parkinson's disease to validate therapeutics. Prior to starting the PhD, Juliette obtained a BSc in Biomedical Science specialising in Neuropharmacology at King's College London followed by an MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.
Hannah is a visiting research student from the IMC Krems in Austria. Her project focuses on studying ageing and molecular degeneration in the in vivo model C. elegans.
Larissa is a visiting research student from the University of Tübingen in Germany. Her project focuses on studying the effects of amyloid beta in an advanced iPSC-based co-culture model of Alzheimer's.
Maya holds a BSc Biochemistry degree from Durham University and is currently studying an MPhil by Research in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. Her project investigates the molecular mechanisms of biomolecular condensate formation at the presynapse.
Anja holds a BSc and MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Belgrade. Anja is currently a PhD student, investigating alpha-synuclein phase separation and its role in presynaptic function and Parkinson’s disease.
Anna is a first year PhD student investigating how senescence, a biological ageing marker, influences the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Eventually, she hopes to treat PD in an in vitro model with senolytic compounds identified through machine learning.
Dongyang joined the group in 2026 as a PhD student after completing undergraduate study at Wuhan University. Her research investigates how microglia and astrocytes influence the spatial distribution and propagation of amyloid-β pathology during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Rhea completed her MRes year of the EPSRC CDT in Sensor Technologies and Applications in 2026 and has joined the group this year to begin the PhD portion of the program.
Rai studied Chemical Engineering at University College London, and is currently a MPhil Biotechnology student at the University of Cambridge. She previously gained pharmaceutical research experience at Pharmaron and now works on an industry-collaborative project with Infinitus investigating mitochondrial health and healthy ageing in C. elegans.
Yi Lok is an MPhil student in Basic and Translational Neuroscience. Before joining the group, Yi Lok received a BSc in Biomedical Science from King’s College London. His project uses an iPSC-derived motor neuron model of ALS to investigate the role of mutant FUS in autophagic flux.
