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Dr Marieta Vassileva
Name:
Dr Marieta Vassileva
Job title:
Research Fellow
Place of work / study:
UCL ARUK Drug Discovery Institute
Area of Research:
The role of microglia in neurodegenerative diseases and how to target them effectively with novel therapeutics
How is your work funded:
Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a Research Fellow at the ARUK Drug Discovery Institute (DDI) within UCL, where our multidisciplinary team integrates biology, pharmacology and chemistry to develop novel therapeutics for dementia. My interest in dementia research began early during my undergraduate and I went on to complete my PhD at the Cardiff Dementia Research Institute, focusing on the microglial risk genes PILRa and Syk and their roles in modulating microglial function, using both cellular and animal models. I joined UCL as a postdoctoral researcher in 2023, and now, as a project lead at the DDI, I apply my expertise in neuroimmunology to translate emerging immune‑related targets into potential therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and continue to pursue strategies that bridge fundamental biology with translational drug discovery.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
I love cooking and everything food related 🙂
Why did you choose to work in dementia?
My interest in the field began during my undergraduate when at the time as part of an assignment I had to complete a systematic review on the current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease which highlighted to me the unmet treatment needs in the field. I have always found the CNS field and the complexity of neurodegenerative diseases fascinating. During this time I was mentored by a fantastic lecturer of mine who worked in the field of neuroscience and had a strong impact on my development. They actively encouraged me to find a lab focused on Alzheimer’s disease research for my final year project and the rest is history.
What single piece of advise would you give to an early career researcher?
Don’t be scared to try new things!
What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and YES!
Favourite film of all time?
Too hard to pick one, depends on my mood 🙂
Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?
Yoga
What’s the best decision you ever made?
Moving away from home to study
What’s your favourite vacation spot?
I’m biased by Sozopol (Bulgaria)
Do you collect anything?
Not really
