Profile

I live and work in Dundee and work at the University based in Ninewells Hospital. In my spare time, I can usually be found running in the surrounding countryside, especially Tentsmuir Forest in Fife where you often see red squirrels, deer and seals. I love all kind of sport and one of the best days of my life was when I went to the London Olympics for super saturday.

My work focuses on the impact that diabetes has on the brain and heart. We know that high glucose levels can be damaging to brain cells, however, low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia) can be equally as damaging. The brain is a very energy-hungry organ and although it accounts for only 2% of the body it uses almost 20% energy supply. We also know that the brain is almost completely reliant on glucose as a fuel source and unlike other cells, brain cells can’t store glucose. This is why periods of low glucose are so damaging. We use a variety of model systems to look at what happens when blood glucose drops to very low levels or very high levels. We have shown that repeated exposure to low blood glucose can damage long and working term memory. We are now looking at how this happens to improve the quality of life of those living with diabetes.

On a typical day, I take the opportunity to run to work, there is a lovely route where I can run through a local park and you can see right over the Tay to neighboring Fife. I usually arrive at work before 8 am and go into the lab to get things ready for the day ahead. A lot of the experiments I do can take months to complete but things are rarely dull as I have a great team in the lab. If I am teaching I might spend the morning in front of my computer giving lectures or answering questions from students. It is nice to have a mixture of work as the day never gets dull.