Neurobehavioural genetics. Isolation and characterisation of behavioural mutations in mice
Lead Research Organisation:
MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit
Abstract
Twin and adoption studies have consistently implicated genetics in the aetiology of psychiatric and behavioural disorders. The identification of the genes and molecular pathways that are associated with these traits using linkage studies has been difficult because psychiatric disorders are almost always non-mendelian, heterogeneous, involve multiple genetic loci and are influenced significantly by environmental factors. Mouse models that are based on intermediate signatures of psychiatric disease and pharmacological responsiveness hold promise as a complementary approach to dissecting the molecular basis of neurobehavioural disorders. This has been made possible by the development and refinement of gene targeting technologies and the use of super-efficient chemical mutagens. ENU mutagenesis in the mouse, when coupled to a battery of sensitive behavioural screens is an effective way of creating and identifying novel mouse behavioural mutants. Screens for specific deficits in behaviours such as biological rhythms and learning/memory are being used in combination with molecular genetic techniques to identify and characterise genes with a behavioural function.||It is hoped that the study of mouse mutants that have arisen from these screens will provide new insights into the genetic basis of abnormal behaviour and that they might lead to the development of novel therapeutic compounds for human psychiatric disease.
Technical Summary
Genetic approaches provide a powerful means by which to examine the biological basis of nervous system diseases such as dementias, neurodegenerative disorders and affective disorders as well as the physiological processes that are affected by them. Almost all mental illnesses are accompanied by abnormal physiological and neurological characteristics that can be readily observed in mice. Phenotype-based approaches have been used successfully in organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster in establishing a genetic basis for many behavioural processes. Use of the chemical mutagen ENU along with hierarchical screening protocols has indicated that phenotype-based approaches in the mouse will be useful in gaining a molecular insight into complex mammalian behaviours.||One of the goals of this group is to identify and characterise ENU-induced mutations that affect specific behavioural processes. The first class of mutations being screened for are those which affect the mammalian circadian clock. The circadian system can be divided into three basic components - the input or entrainment pathway, the central pacemaker and the output pathway. Disruption of any of these components could be responsible for rhythm and sleep anomalies associated with complex psychiatric disorders. Pacemaker function is generally assessed by measuring an identifiable component of the output pathway such as locomotor (wheel-running) activity. The second class of mutations being screened for are those that affect learning and memory. Using these screens, we can identify not only molecular components specifically associated with memory formation but also components associated with neural mechanisms such as migration, plasticity and degeneration.||Paradigms such as Spontaneous Alternation, Novel Object Recognition, Holeboard exploration and Attention testing screens are being used to identify potential mutants. Positional cloning of several mutations identified in these screens is currently underway. This approach is complemented by carrying out molecular analysis of novel mutations. Primarily this involves histological analysis and in situ hybridization of brain regions suspected to be associated with particular behaviours. For example, circadian rhythms are associated with a brain region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, located in the hypothalamus and consisting of approximately 10,000 cells. Histological analysis tells us whether there is a gross dysmorphology associated with the mutation, indicating that underlying neurodevelopmental processes might be affected.||In addition, by using specific molecular markers known to be associated with a particular behaviour, we can determine the molecular consequences of each mutation. Systematic approaches to characterising molecular pathways associated with behavioural traits are being established.
Organisations
- MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit, United Kingdom (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Oxford, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- University College London, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- National Research Council CNR - Italy (Collaboration)
- Actual Analytics (Collaboration)
- Newcastle University, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- Yale University (Collaboration)
- Goldsmiths College, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- Medical Research Council (Collaboration)
- University of Exeter, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- University of California, Santa Cruz, United States (Collaboration)
- Unlisted (Collaboration)
- Duke University, United States (Collaboration)
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands (Collaboration)
- Italian Institute of Technology (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT) (Collaboration)
- Brown University, United States (Collaboration)
- University of Otago, New Zealand (Collaboration)
- University of Leicester, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
Publications

Achilli F
(2009)
An ENU-induced mutation in mouse glycyl-tRNA synthetase (GARS) causes peripheral sensory and motor phenotypes creating a model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2D peripheral neuropathy.
in Disease models & mechanisms

Anand SN
(2012)
Generation of mouse mutants as tools in dissecting the molecular clock.
in Progress in brain research

Anand SN
(2013)
Distinct and separable roles for endogenous CRY1 and CRY2 within the circadian molecular clockwork of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, as revealed by the Fbxl3(Afh) mutation.
in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

Bacon Y
(2004)
Screening for novel ENU-induced rhythm, entrainment and activity mutants
in Genes, Brain and Behavior

Bains RS
(2016)
Analysis of Individual Mouse Activity in Group Housed Animals of Different Inbred Strains using a Novel Automated Home Cage Analysis System.
in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience

Bains RS
(2018)
Assessing mouse behaviour throughout the light/dark cycle using automated in-cage analysis tools.
in Journal of neuroscience methods

Balzani E
(2016)
The Zfhx3-Mediated Axis Regulates Sleep and Interval Timing in Mice.
in Cell reports

Banks G
(2015)
Genetic background influences age-related decline in visual and nonvisual retinal responses, circadian rhythms, and sleep.
in Neurobiology of aging

Banks G
(2016)
Reciprocal interactions between circadian clocks and aging.
in Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society

Banks G
(2018)
A missense mutation in Katnal1 underlies behavioural, neurological and ciliary anomalies.
in Molecular psychiatry
Description | Guiding Principles for Behavioural Laboratory Animal Science |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in advisory committee |
Description | BBSRC Project Grant |
Amount | £655,578 (GBP) |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 04/2015 |
Description | EU COllaborative Project |
Amount | £723,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 04/2009 |
End | 03/2012 |
Description | EU FP6 Integrated Project |
Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2006 |
End | 01/2011 |
Description | NARSAD Young Investigator Grant |
Amount | $60,000 (USD) |
Organisation | Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 01/2015 |
Title | Mouse Mutant Models |
Description | Generation of mouse models of human neurological and psychiatric disease |
Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - mammalian in vivo |
Year Produced | 2006 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | High impact publications |
Description | Analysis of light entrainment and sleep in mice |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | genetic and behavioural analysis of mouse mutants |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in molecular and cellular analysis of mouse mutant phenotypes |
Impact | High impact publications in Cell, Nature Communications, NAR, Neurobiology Aging, PLoS Biology etc |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Behavioural phenotyping, motor function cognition and sleep |
Organisation | Italian Institute of Technology (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT) |
Department | Neuroscience and Brain Technologies IIT |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Publications Development of new phenotyping technologies |
Collaborator Contribution | Equal contributions in management, design and experimental work |
Impact | High impact publications in Molecular Psychiatry, Cell Reports, J Clin Invest, Dis Model Mech etc. |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | Behavioural phenotyping, motor function cognition and sleep |
Organisation | National Research Council |
Department | Institute of Neuroscience (CNR-IN) |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Publications Development of new phenotyping technologies |
Collaborator Contribution | Equal contributions in management, design and experimental work |
Impact | High impact publications in Molecular Psychiatry, Cell Reports, J Clin Invest, Dis Model Mech etc. |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | Beta Catenin mutations in humans and mice |
Organisation | Radboud University Nijmegen |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Behavioural, molecular and cellular characterization of a mouse line carrying a mutation in beta catenin. |
Collaborator Contribution | Identification and description of numerous ID patients carrying de novo mutations in beta catenin |
Impact | High impact publication, Journal of Clinical Investigation |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Beta catenin protein structural variant |
Organisation | University of Reading |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Mouse with mis-sense mutation in beta catenin |
Collaborator Contribution | Experience in analysis of 3D-protein structure aided in assigning a mechanism for beta catenin dysfunction in the mouse mutant. |
Impact | High impact publication, Journal of Clinical Investigation |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Biophysical investigation of synaptic vesicle fusion in mouse mutants |
Organisation | University College London |
Department | Institute of Neurology |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Mouse carrying a mutation in Vamp2 |
Collaborator Contribution | Biophysical investigation into the effects of the Vamp2 mutation Electrophysiological investigation into the effects of the Vamp2 mutation |
Impact | Data for scientific publication |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Biophysical investigation of synaptic vesicle fusion in mouse mutants |
Organisation | Yale University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Mouse carrying a mutation in Vamp2 |
Collaborator Contribution | Biophysical investigation into the effects of the Vamp2 mutation Electrophysiological investigation into the effects of the Vamp2 mutation |
Impact | Data for scientific publication |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Cacna1c Calcium channel kinetics |
Organisation | Brown University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have characterised two mutant alleles of Cacna1c, both with behavioural deficits. We have provided mammalian expression vectors to study Ca channel kinetics in cells. |
Collaborator Contribution | Collaborators have overexpressed mutant forms of Cacna1c in cells and have investigated changes in Calcium channel kinetics. The mechanisms identified can be used to explain the behavioural phenotypes seen in the mutant mouse lines. |
Impact | High impact publication currently being drafted. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Ciliary dysfunction in Katnal1 mutant mice |
Organisation | University of Leicester |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Our investigations of behaviour in Katnal1 mice directed us towards investigating ciliary dysfunction in ependymal cells. We provided the tissues for this collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our partners analysed structure and dynamics of cilia in ependymal cells. |
Impact | High impact publication, Molecular Psychiatry |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Cortical anomalies in Katnal1 mice |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Katnal1 mutant mouse |
Collaborator Contribution | Immunofluorescence analysis of cortical layers in mutant mice |
Impact | High impact publication, Molecular Psychiatry |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Home-cage phenotyping |
Organisation | Actual Analytics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | A new home-cage video monitoring system is being developed by Actual Analytics. Our group and others at Harwell are involved with annotating behaviours of group-house mice for the purposes of automated tracking of these behaviours |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners are developing the technology |
Impact | Prototypes of behavioural phenotyping modules for home-cage assessment of behaviour. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Identification and characterisation of human genes underlying sleep and circadian disorders |
Organisation | Newcastle University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Exome sequencing to be analysed by our group and the Bioinformatics team at Harwell. Downstream analysis (including the development of CRISPR mouse models) to be overseen or performed by the neurobehavoural genetics team at Harwell. |
Collaborator Contribution | Patient diagnosis and DNA extraction to be performed by Newcastle University colleagues. |
Impact | Human genetics, Bioinformatics, Neuroscience. Study has just commenced, outcomes to be updated. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Identification of novel neurological mutants |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Department | MRC Functional Genomics Unit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Identification of abnormal mouse phenotypes using neurological screens, inheritance testing, mapping and cloning |
Collaborator Contribution | Molecular and cellular analysis of mutantsMolecular and cellular analysis of mouse mutants |
Impact | High impact publications |
Description | Identification of novel neurological mutants |
Organisation | University College London |
Department | Institute of Neurology |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Identification of abnormal mouse phenotypes using neurological screens, inheritance testing, mapping and cloning |
Collaborator Contribution | Molecular and cellular analysis of mutantsMolecular and cellular analysis of mouse mutants |
Impact | High impact publications |
Description | Period2 protein structural variant |
Organisation | University of California, Santa Cruz |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We identified a Per2 mis-sense variant, mouse expresses a circadian phenotype |
Collaborator Contribution | Our partner in this study provided the protein structural data supporting our molecular findings that mutant Per2 is more susceptible to proteasomal degradation. |
Impact | High impact publication Proc Natl Acad Sci. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Sleep paralysis genetic associations |
Organisation | Goldsmiths, University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | genotyping and genetic analysis |
Collaborator Contribution | Human cohort study |
Impact | Publication J Sleep Res |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Slice and cell electrophysiology studies in mutants |
Organisation | University of Exeter |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We provide mutants where particular genes or behavioural processes are affected. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our partners provide the expertise and infrastructure for electrophysiology studies. |
Impact | Ongoing work will be used in future publications. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Social jetlag and metabolic dysfunctions in a large human cohort study |
Organisation | Duke University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Analysed cohort data |
Collaborator Contribution | Collected cohort data and provided additional information |
Impact | Publication Int J Obesity |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Social jetlag and metabolic dysfunctions in a large human cohort study |
Organisation | Goldsmiths, University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Analysed cohort data |
Collaborator Contribution | Collected cohort data and provided additional information |
Impact | Publication Int J Obesity |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Social jetlag and metabolic dysfunctions in a large human cohort study |
Organisation | University of Otago |
Country | New Zealand |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Analysed cohort data |
Collaborator Contribution | Collected cohort data and provided additional information |
Impact | Publication Int J Obesity |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Tauopathy modifiers |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Department | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Crossing Tauopathy model to ENU injected mice. Screening for enhancer or suppressor of phenotype, inheritance testing, mapping and cloning. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of mouse tauopathy model to identify ENU modifiers. Funding for Research assistant at Harwell and shared Postdoctoral Fellow based in Cambridge. |
Impact | In progress, new modifiers identified. |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | analysis of mouse circadian behaviour |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Department | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Identification,characterization and cloning of mutants |
Collaborator Contribution | Cellular analysis and imaging of mouse mutants |
Impact | High impact publications in Science, Cell, PNAS, Molecular Psychiatry etc. |
Description | Big Data Neurophysiology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Discussion on how neurophysiology projects might be used with mouse high-throughput phenotyping projects |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Brain twitter conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Postdoc Nora Bourbia was selected to present one of our work projects at the first Brain Twitter Conference. Presentation was in the form of a series of 6 tweets. Sparked comments and interaction from numerous individuals. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Cherwell School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Sixth form talk on genetics of circadian rhythms/chronobiology. resulted in several conversations with interested students. Students enquired about careers in science. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Chinese visitors to institute |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Interaction with chinese visitors |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Clock club organisation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Over 150 scientists attended symposium organised by my group. Promoted networking and interaction amongst circadian scientists at a National level. Collaborative work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.genetics.org.uk/Conferences/tabid/84/Filter/64%20GSS/ClientID/1/MeetingNo/GTS_405/view/Co... |
Description | Clock club presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | National group working in the field of biological rhythms informed about our research updates More interest from UK research community |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
Description | Didcot Girls School career fair |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | We set up a Career workshop to share our choice in science, advice on career path, a typical day at our work and answer questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | European researchers Night, Oxford |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We had an exhibition of our work at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, attended by general public. Our postdocs were present and engaged with the general public, discussing the impact of our work on brain, circadian rhythms and sleep. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Festival of Ancient and Moden Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | We manned a stand at this festival explaining our work on biological clocks and sleep. Many interested parties came to the stand. In one case, we set up a visit to our labs by one of the students for a week of shadowing. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Genetics of Psychology lectures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Over 80 students attended these lectures on gene x environment interactions, there were several informal discussions with students afterwards. Interest in our group's research shown by students. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
Description | Harwell Mouse Genetics |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presentation on mouse neurogenetics and neurophenotyping |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | I'm a scientist, get me out of here! |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | This is an online event sponsored by The Wellcome Trust. The audience is encouraged to ask scientific questions. Our postdoc was present in "Sleep Zone" and engaged with school kids between grades 7 and 11. There she answered questions on our research, sleep, circadian rhythms and other neurological disorders. Also she discussed issues related to the brain and medical research in general. This online event provides a platform for school kids to get closer to scientists. They are very interested in our work in the brain, as well as the scientists who do the research. We hope that we inspire them go enter the research field themselves. To quote responses from two of the participants, "I know more about sleep now", "I really like you, thank you for chatting with us." It was an inspiring event for both the participants and our postdoc. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | IMI2 Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Workshop on new developments in home cage phenotyping and automated image analysis. Several presentations covering numerous aspects of automated phenotyping. Major discussions followed on how to take these ideas forward in terms of software and hardware development. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Invited Talk, IIT Italy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Further collaboration More collaborative work and publications |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Invitee Systems Genetics, Prague |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Interest into how our Unit can interact with community in complex trait genetics More interest in Unit activities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | MP Unit visits |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Unit visits from particular focus groups (WI and 3rd Age retirees). Given opportunity to carry out some simple experiments followed by presentation on application to our research. Discussions afterwards. Similar visits are being organised for the future. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011 |
Description | MRC Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We manned a stand explaining some of our research and explaining some of the science behind circadian rhythms and sleep. Interaction with public and had many interactive props for public engagement. Lots of interested individuals and many additional questions on the topic. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | MRC Harwell Open Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public given demonstration on DNA purification and information on structure. Many interested parties with questions. heigthened awareness in public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | MRC Harwell festival Open Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We manned a stand where we exhibited some of our research and talked with the public about our work in sleep and circadian rhythms. There was a lot of interest in sleep and chronotypes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Measuring Behaviour presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presentation of new home cage phenotyping apparatus to individuals in industry, academics etc. Provoked discussions in home-cage phenotyping and developed interest in apparatus being used. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.measuringbehavior.org/mb2016/home |
Description | Medical Genetics Summer School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Lectures on Microarray Analysis and Non-Coding RNAs with detailed discussions afterward Increased interest from students |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Mouse Genetics Course |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Lectures on ENU mutagenesis and behavioural genetics. Followed by Q&A and general discussion. Increased knowledge of Genetics research tools brought back to many Eastern European, Asian and African countries. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011 |
Description | Mouse Genetics lecture (UCL) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presented history and background on mouse genetics to UCL undergraduates. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018 |
Description | Mouse Genetics, Trieste |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talks on mouse behavioural genetics and on genetic basis of circadian rhythms. Audience was a mix of students and professionals from developing countries. Level of engagement was very high with many interesting questions and debates following the talks. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | NEW SCIENTIST LIVE 2017, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Stand at Science Museum, London presenting our work on sleep and circadian rhythms. Interaction and discussions with members of the general public including schoolchildren. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | New Statesman piece |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | New Statesman interviewee asked for comments on how London Underground night tube at weekends might affect resident mouse sleep patterns. Resulting piece published in New Statesman. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/nature/2016/08/how-night-tube-could-give-london-s-mice-friday-fe... |
Description | Oxford MRC Harwell Postdoc Symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Our postdocs initiated and organised a Postdoctoral fellow networking event. Audience was encouraged to present their work and research interests. At the end of the symposium, there was a career advice and networking section to encourage postdocs and final year postgraduate students to establish independent collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Oxford Neurodevelopment Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presented our work on mouse mutant models of intellectual disability |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Oxford Neuroscience course |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Lecture on Mouse Behavioural Genetics for Masters students in Neuroscience. Led to more questions and discussion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
Description | Oxford Pharmacology talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presentation of work to a mix of undergraduates, graduates and staff in the Pharmacology Department in Oxford. Discussions on work and potential collaborations afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Oxford Science festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We manned a stand at Oxford Science Festival, stand was in Broad Street in Oxford city centre, open to all comers. We had lots of engagement activities which explained the science behind circadian rhythms and sleep. We had many and varied interesting discussions with the public and arranged a school visit based on some of these discussions. Through interactions with local teachers we organised a trip to the Unicorn School for a school awareness presentation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Presentation IAT Oxford branch |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Informal meeting of local branch of animal technologists, attended by approximately 50 people. Many questions and informal discussion afterwards. Good feedback from Animal Facilities Management staff. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Presentation at LASA |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presentation on our developments in automated home-cage phenotyping. Interest in all sections of the audience, with many questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Public engagement on twitter via the twitter account @LaBioauLabo |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Discussion of neurobehavioural genetics work via twitter |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Royal Institute Family Fun Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | As part of the Royal institute family fun day, we had an exhibition of our work at the Royal institute, London, as one of a number of UKRI representatives. It was an open day event, attended by general public. Our postdocs were present and engaged with the general public, discussing the impact of our work on metabolism, circadian rhythms, sleep and their impact on the brain. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Royal Society of Medicine Symposium on Genetics of Sleep |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Health professionals |
Results and Impact | Presentation on how genetic models can inform us on the aetiology of sleep disorders. Led to interesting discussions on the future use of mice to model sleep disorders in humans. Promotion of the utility of animal models amongst clinicians and other healthcare professionals. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | SGDP King's College Molecular Biology Summer School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presentation as part of a course in Genetics for students, with discussion afterwards Increased interest in behavioural genetics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2012 |
Description | School presentation, Oxford |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 40 students attended talk after which there were questions and discussion Students asked for more information, investigated websites related to research topic |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Science Festival at Cheney School, Oxford |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | We demonstrated science 'experiments' for all students there. Our group showed how the light microscope is used to examine Golgi-stained neurons. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Sleep presentations, Japan |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presentations on molecular genetic basis of rhythms and sleep. Led to numerous questions and discussions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Sleep talk, Bologna |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk on genetics of circadian rhythms and sleep. Sparked questions and discussion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | St Annes Open Day Talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk was attended by a mixture of individuals associated with St Annes College in Oxford. Open discussion afterwards on the social implications of circadian rhythm disturbances.. Highlighted impact of this growing field of research to a mixed audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Summer school |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Over 50 postgraduate students in sleep and circadian neuroscience from Europe attended a series of lectures, debates and social activities. Lectures on the genetics of sleep promoted discussions in this area. Increased interest in our work on sleep and rhythms. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.eye.ox.ac.uk/research/sleep-and-circadian-neuroscience-summer-schools-2014 |
Description | Super Science Saturday, Oxford |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We were one of a number of stands at the Oxford University Natural History Museum. The focus was on the brain and we discussed our work with the public and had numerous associated demonstrations/leaflets etc. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Techniplast visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presented our progress with mouse home-cage tracking for sleep and activity measures |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | U western australia discussions |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Realying information on our research to researchers at UWA |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | U3A presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | Presentation of work to a group of U3A visitors, there was a lot of interest in biological clocks and how they change with age, illness and environmental factors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | UCL ION talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk on molecular genetics of sleep in mice. Had several questions and discussions afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | UCL Mouse Genetics |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk on Mouse Genetics with specific reference to neurological and behavioural genetics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Unicorn School visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | School presentation on the brain. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Visit by Chinese research group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presented summaries of work projects ongoing in the group. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Worldcon75, poster and talk presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation of our research at SciFi international conference. Explanation of what we do in lay terms, led to some great interactions with the public. Postdoc, Nora Bourbia, won prize for her presentation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | York University visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk at York University with students, graduates and academics attending. Discussion on behavioural genetics as outcome. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |