Biography
Postdoctoral Research fellow, University of Calgary, Canada
I am currently undertaking my second postdoc position in the lab of Dr Matthew Hill in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary in Canada. My current research focus is the behavioural and neuronal mechanisms underlying cannabis-induced feeding i.e. ‘the munchies’.
My career started with a BSc degree (with Honours in Pharmacology) from the University of Edinburgh (UK) in 2013. I then undertook a 3-year PhD with Dr John Menzies and Prof Gareth Leng (at The University of Edinburgh) to carry out research on the neuroendocrine regulation of appetite, with specific focus on the neuropeptide oxytocin.
Following my PhD, I carried out a short 2-year postdoc with Prof. Mike Ludwig (also at The University of Edinburgh) in a different field; studying the role of vasopressin in the regulation of circadian rhythms. At this stage I decided to peruse a career specifically in feeding behaviour research, so in 2019 I moved to Canada to pursue a second postdoc in the cannabinoid regulation of feeding behaviours, and am currently applying for Fellowships to establish myself as an independent researcher.
