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Profile – Professor Tammaryn Lashley, University College London

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01/06/2018

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Professor Tammaryn Lashley

Name:

Professor Tammaryn Lashley

Job Title:

Professor of Neuroscience

Place of work / study:

UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology

Area of Research:

Neurodegeneration

Frontotemporal DementiaRNA-Binding ProteinsNeuropathology

How is your work funded?

Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am Professor of Neuroscience at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, where I am Deputy Head of the Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and Departmental Graduate Tutor. I also lead a research group investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

My research is centred on the study of human post-mortem brain tissue, combining detailed neuropathological assessment with molecular, transcriptomic, proteomic and spatial approaches. A major focus of my work is understanding how disruption of DNA- and RNA-binding proteins, including heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs), contributes to neurodegeneration. I am particularly interested in how changes in the localisation and function of these proteins affect RNA processing, cellular stress responses and downstream molecular pathways.

My research also explores the role of endogenous retroviruses and antiviral responses in FTD, including whether loss of normal nuclear RNA-binding proteins may contribute to the reactivation of normally silenced viral elements. Alongside this work, my group investigates the molecular and cellular heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, including the contribution of astrocytes and microglia to disease.

I have extensive expertise in human neuropathology and brain banking, having worked with the Queen Square Brain Bank for more than two decades. I am a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and have held several leadership roles within the British Neuropathological Society, including President.

My overarching aim is to use human tissue to identify disease mechanisms that are directly relevant to people living with dementia and to uncover new molecular pathways that could ultimately provide targets for future therapies.

I was promoted to Professor in 2021 – you can watch Professor Lashley’s inaugural lecture on YouTube.