Research - areas of interest

The research being undertaken in the department includes:

• chemical and anatomical changes and molecular mechanisms of nerve cell death in the human brain in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia and Epilepsy
• stem cells and neurogenesis in the human brain
• molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration
• fetal neural grafts in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain
• comparative neuroanatomy of the avian brain; neural control of vocalization
• neurothology: research on how nervous systems generate vocalisation behaviour
• modelling of heart function using MRI
• MRI imaging of the pelvic diaphragm and anal sphincter mechanism
• imaging of the small bowel
• use of novel contrast agents in liver MRI
• structure and function correlations between high resolution CT of the chest and lung disease
• role of primary cilia in mechanosensation in cartilage
• role of the primary cilium in the development of renal fibrosis and polycystic kidney disease
• the role of the primary cilium in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
• cytoskeleton and effects of asbestos in living cells
• engineering elastin-rich tissues
• role of the extracellular matrix in ischaemic heart disease
• articular cartilage - molecular anatomy, mechanobiology and biochemistry of development, differentiation and osteoarthritic degeneration
• developmental biology - patterning of the limb and growth plate
• interstitial lung disease
• kidney disease and transplantation
• scrotal ultrasound in asymptomatic post-vasectomy patients
• therapeutic embolisation for acute haemorrhage in the abdomen and pelvis
• geometry of the human hip joint and the design of prostheses
• modelling the gastro-oesophaegal junction
• hepatotoxicity
• development of a technique to identify epithelial cells for use in forensic casework.