PROGRESS EDUCATIONAL TRUST - Key Persons
Abbie Harper is a volunteer writer at BioNews. She is currently studying for an MSc at University College London's Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, focussing on the clinical aspect of immunology, including experimental medicine and therapeutic approaches. She originally studied at Imperial College London, obtaining a BSc in Biochemistry with emphasis on immunology and genetics, and is now applying this knowledge to the field of medical sciences.
Job Titles:
- Volunteer Writer and Paralegal
Abbie Newing is a Volunteer Writer and Paralegal who is aiming towards studying Medical Law and Ethics at a masters level. She previously graduated with a 1:1 class law degree from the University of Kent, where she achieved an award for best performance in the year in a Medical Law and Ethics module. She has a particular interest in issues of surrogacy, assisted reproduction, embryology and medical law, policy and ethics generally.
Job Titles:
- Economist, Science Editor
Anna Wernick is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is currently studying for a PhD at University College London as part of the at Leonard Wolfson Training Programme in Neurodegeneration. Her research, which is supervised by Professors Sonia Gandhi and Selina Wray, focuses on lysosomal networks implicated in both Parkinson's disease and frontotemporal dementia. She originally studied Neuroscience at the University of Manchester, and also researched the genetics of multiple system atrophy at the Mayo Clinic in Florida.
Beatrice Costa is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews , having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is currently studying for a PhD Neurodegenerative Disorders at University College London's Queen Square Institute of Neurology, where she works in Professor John Hardy's team. Her research, which is funded by Alzheimer's Society, lies at the intersection of bioinformatics and experimental biology and explores the role of autophagy in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Previously, she obtained a BSc (Hons) degree in Biology at Maastricht University (NL) that included a placement of half year at University College London studying C9orf72 repeat expansion prevalence in FTD patients.
Bernie Owusu-Yaw is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is currently studying for a PhD in Neuroscience at University College London, where the aim of her research is to develop models of inherited prion diseases. The models will be used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of these diseases.
Charlotte Spicer is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at University College London's Queen Square Institute of Neurology, investigating a gene therapy approach for the rare neurodegenerative disorder spinal bulbar muscular atrophy (also known as Kennedy's disease). Previously, she studied Neuroscience at the University of Leeds, with a year's industrial experience with the London Pain Consortium at Imperial College London. After this she undertook a PhD in which she investigated the effects of upregulating the heat shock response in models of a rare muscle-wasting disease called inclusion body myositis. This was conducted under the the supervision of Professor Linda Greensmith and funded by the Medical Research Council's Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases at UCL.
Chris Sivers is a Trustee at PET, and has also worked for more than 20 years in the field of finance. She has held positions including Director of Finance and Operations at the Royal Statistical Society (the leading professional body for statisticians and data analysts since 1834), Finance Team Leader at Amnesty International UK (part of a world-wide organisation campaigning for Human Rights).Chris currently volunteers as an advisor at Citizens Advice and she helps Chilterns MS Centre with its governance, and in particular with its volunteer recruitment process. She has held many other voluntary roles including Trustee and Treasurer at St Marys Parochial Church Council, Ivinghoe, and as a Non-executive Director at Bucks Hospitals NHS Trust.
Alexander Ware is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews and intern at the charity which publishes it, the Progress Educational Trust (PET). He is studying for a PhD in plant development at the University of Nottingham and previously completed a degree in Biology at the University of Bristol.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Dr Ara Schorscher-Petcu is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is a senior postdoctoral researcher at University College London, where her research investigates the cortical processing of pain and somatosensation. She obtained her PhD in Neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, where she studied the role of neuropeptides oxytocin, vasopressin and CGRP in pain. She went on to work at Paris Descartes University (now subsumed into the University of Paris), where her research focused on interactions between chemical senses and nociception in the olfactory bulb.
Dr Barbara Kramarz is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is currently working as a gene ontology biocurator in the group of Dr Ruth Lovering at University College London's Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, and focuses on the annotation of microRNAs and their targets. Previously she studied Biotechnology at the University of Surrey and completed a PhD at UCL's Institute of Ophthalmology.
Caroline Casey is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews , having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme . She is currently studying for a PhD in Neuroscience at University College London 's Institute of Neurology , with funding from the Wellcome Trust . Her research, conducted under the supervision of Professor Sarah Tabrizi , aims to recapitulate the corticostriatal brain pathway using various types of neurons. Her previous research focused on neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's disease and stroke. She originally obtained a degree in Neuroscience from the University of Manchester , with a year's industrial experience during which she worked at the Mayo Clinic in Florida.
Dr Charlotte Douglas is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, and is also an Innovation Adviser at Imperial College Health Partners. She has a PhD in sex chromosome biology and developmental genetics from the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London, where research focused on genetics and new ways to implement CRISPR technologies. She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institut Curie in Paris, investigating the role and function of RNA methylation, and has also worked as an intern at the Science Media Centre. She now works as a genomics project manager for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in London. She is passionate about improving healthcare and population health outcomes by helping to implement collaborative, evidence-driven and research-based programmes with a strong communication and inclusion aspect.
Dr Chris Chatterton was formerly Genetics Editor at BioNews and at the charity that publishes it, the Progress Educational Trust (PET). He has a PhD (2014) from Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences where his research focused on the social and ethical issues surrounding new medical conditions. He spent several years working as a research scientist at University College London's Institute of Child Health, at Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine, and at St Mary's Hospital. In these posts, he examined genetic susceptibility to disease, including research on metabolic conditions, infectious diseases, asthma, and allergy. He currently works as a freelance science editor and writer, medical/social researcher, and health activist. He has conducted work for the Department of Health, NHS, various medical charities, Universities in the UK and Europe, and a number of multinational companies. His current focus is on stigmatised medical conditions, with a particular interest in the topic of incontinence, where he continues to raise awareness, conduct social research, and policy work in this area.
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Contributing Editor
- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Trustee
- Trustee / Professor Frances Flinter / Emeritus Professor of Clinical Genetics
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
US President Joe Biden has selected geneticist Professor Eric Lander as his presidential scientific adviser...
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Trustee / Professor Frances Flinter / Emeritus Professor of Clinical Genetics
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- Member of the Advisory Committee
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- People Professor Allan Pacey
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee