Biosciences for Health, World-Class underpinning Bioscience

Understanding the fundamental biology that governs human function has always fascinated me. I am specifically interested in the fundamental
biological mechanisms that govern healthy brain function. Developing a critical understanding of the cortical circuits that govern higher order functions
interests me greatly. In particular, I wish to develop an understanding of the connectivity between higher order brain areas, such as the pre-frontal
cortex, and related brain structures such as the basal ganglia and the amygdala. In defining the relative connectivity, I then wish to investigate how
modulation of connectivity within these circuits can effect behaviour. I am interested in the characterisation of these circuits on a number of different
levels, and would like to combine a variety of experimental approaches to understand the underlying circuitry and connectivity. Having just completed
an MRes on the Bioimaging Sciences course at Imperial College, I would like to use imaging techniques to understand the underlying circuitry
associated with a particular behavioural phenotype. In later studies, I would then like to investigate the underlying circuitry at a more basic level, using
a variety of molecular biology techniques to understand the underlying gene products, protein products, neurotransmitter systems and receptor subtypes