A neuroscientist at Keele University has secured a prestigious grant to further her research into the processes contributing to nerve cell degeneration.  

Dr Muriel Desbois, a molecular neuroscientist in Keele's School of Life Sciences, has been awarded a Springboard grant from the Academy of Medical Sciences to study the process behind neural cell degeneration.  

The hope is that by understanding this process better, researchers and clinicians studying conditions like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease can better understand how these neural degenerations happen, and screen for them earlier or suggest alternative treatments.  

Dr Desbois said: "Those long, connecting neuronal filaments, called axons, are essential for the nervous system to function. They develop at the beginning of our life, and they must be protected during its entirety, but we don't fully understand how this protection works. 

"The AMS Springboard award will help us understand that process better by exploring which genes are important for the morphological integrity of the axons."  

Dr Desbois' research looks at neural cells in the worm, C. elegans, which has a simple nervous system which is ideal for studying the structure of axons. An axon is an extension of a nerve cell that carries electrical impulses during nervous system activity.  

When these axons become damaged or develop abnormalities it can impair their function, and this change is something which is also seen in human nerve cells, particularly in conditions like dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions.  

Using this funding, Dr Desbois and her team plan to study the molecular processes which cause these changes, to understand why they happen. The hope is that by understanding the changes at a much earlier stage, doctors can identify patients most at risk earlier, allowing for further testing or treatment as needed.  

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UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said: "To tackle cruel diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and chronic pain, and ultimately save lives, we must help researchers to take their ambitious discovery-stage work to the next level.

"This support is backing researchers at a stage where attracting commercial investment can be a challenge and builds on the Government's record investment in research – unlocking more discoveries that benefit people across the UK and beyond." 

In total, the Academy of Medical Sciences has awarded £6.7 million to 55 early career researchers at 38 institutions across the UK, backing new research that can transform understanding of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, infectious diseases and chronic pain, among other pressing health challenges.  

Now in its eleventh year, Springboard supports researchers at a critical point in their careers, when many are establishing laboratories for the first time and need the freedom to explore ambitious questions. 

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