Ewch i’r prif gynnwys
Adrian Harwood  PhD, FRSB

Yr Athro Adrian Harwood

PhD, FRSB

Technical Director of the Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute

Ysgol y Biowyddorau

Email
HarwoodAJ@caerdydd.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29206 88492
Campuses
Adeilad Hadyn Ellis, Ystafell Room 3.33, Heol Maendy, Caerdydd, CF24 4HQ
Comment
Sylwebydd y cyfryngau

Trosolwyg

I am neuro-cell biologist based in the Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI), and School of Biosciences. I have extensive experience in molecular signalling systems and cell analysis in neuronal and model cell systems.

My current work focuses on the molecular and cellular interactions that underlie genetic risk for psychiatric conditions and dementia. Current projects focus on cell signalling, synaptic function, neurodevelopment  and epigenetic mechanisms, and how they modulate neuronal and glial cell function and drug sensitivity. I am using human stem cell and CRISPR technologies to create new model systems for the study of neuropsychiatric disorders and their pharmacological analysis, and have developed human cell-based assays using Multi-Electrode Array techniques to monitor altered neuronal network activity arising from genetic mutation.  In doing so, my work aims to both develop new therapeutic strategies and provide basic insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying mental health.

Cyhoeddiad

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Adrannau llyfrau

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Ymchwil

Mae anhwylderau niwroddatblygiadol (NDDs), fel sgitsoffrenia ac anhwylderau sbectrwm awtistiaeth (ASD) yn gyflyrau seiciatrig cronig cyffredin sy'n cyfrannu'n sylweddol at faich clefydau byd-eang. Mae astudiaethau genetig bellach yn nodi cyfres o enynnau sy'n cynyddu'r risg o ddatblygu'r cyflyrau hyn. At hynny, mae risg genetig sylweddol hefyd yn bodoli ar gyfer prif gyflyrau anhwylder deubegynol a dementia.  Fy amcanion ymchwil: sefydlu'r ffenoteipiau niwrogellog sy'n deillio o'r newidiadau genetig hyn; Deall y mecanweithiau sy'n sail i salwch meddwl y tarddiad ac i ddatblygu strategaethau therapiwtig newydd. Mae prosiectau cyfredol yn canolbwyntio ar fecanweithiau epigenetig, niwroddatblygiadol a synaptig sy'n gysylltiedig ag aetioleg clefydau a gweithredu cyffuriau.

Rydym yn ymchwilio i dri math o fecanwaith ar draws ystod o fathau o gelloedd a wahaniaethir oddi wrth fôn-gelloedd pluripotent a achosir gan bobl (iPSC). Mae nifer o modulatyddion epigenetig wedi bod yn gysylltiedig ag ASD, sgitsoffrenia ac epilepsi. Rydym yn astudio effeithiau EHMT1 a'r teulu CHD o broteinau ar niwroddatblygiad, rheoleiddio genynnau a synaptogenesis. Yn ogystal â'r broses strwythurol a metabolig, mae lipidau ac asidau brasterog penodol yn hanfodol ar gyfer signalau celloedd. Rydym yn ymchwilio i ryngweithio lipidau a'r genyn risg deubegynol Asid Brasterog Desaturase 2 (FADS2) a'u heffeithiau ar amlhau bôn-gelloedd, niwroddatblygiad a swyddogaeth synaptig.

Mae genynnau sy'n amgodio proteinau synaptig sy'n cyfryngu signalau glwtamad a GABA yn gysylltiedig yn gryf ag anhwylderau niwroseiciatrig. Rydym yn defnyddio cyfuniadau o dechnoleg CRISPR, genomig ac Aml-electrod Array (MEA) mewn bôn-gelloedd dynol i greu systemau model newydd ar gyfer astudio'r anhwylderau hyn ac ymyrraeth ffarmacolegol newydd.

Grantiau cyfredol

  • Gwobr Strategol Ymddiriedolaeth Wellcome (WTSA): DEFINE: Diffinio Endophenotypes o Niwrowyddorau Integredig.
  • Sefydliad Waterloo:  Future Minds
  • MINDDS (Sicrhau'r Effeithiau Ymchwil Mwyaf ar gyfer Anhwylderau Niwroddatblygiadol). Gweithredu COST Ewropeaidd
  • Partneriaeth Ddiwydiannol Prifysgol Caerdydd-Takeda

Cydweithio

  • Jeremy Hall, NMHRI, Prifysgol Caerdydd
  • John Atack, Sefydliad Darganfod Meddyginiaethau (MDI), Prifysgol Caerdydd
  • Julie Williams, Canolfan Sefydliad Ymchwil Dementia y DU (DRI), Prifysgol Caerdydd
  • Vivi Heine, Canolfan Feddygol Prifysgol VU, Amsterdam
  • Patrick Sullivan, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.

Bywgraffiad

Following my BA in Zoology from the University of Oxford, I investigated gene targeting by mitotic homologous recombination in cultured mammalian cells at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Chris Bostock, being awarded a PhD in 1988.

My further research focused on the study of signal transduction processes in the context of cell biology. Initially, I held a Research Fellowships at the ICRF Clare Hall Laboratories (1988-1991) in the group of Jeff Williams. During this period, I pioneered the study of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in Dictyostelium, establishing the basic role of this important kinase in spatial and temporal control during development. I also established a number of key technologies for Dictyostelium research, including the use of lacZ marker genes. I was awarded a MRC Post-doctoral Fellowship at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, (1992-1994) in the group of Rob Kay. Here, I carried out the first REMI mutagenesis screens outside the US, leading to discovering the essential role of GSK-3 in cell and developmental biology of Dictyostelium.

In 1995 I was awarded a Wellcome Trust Senior Biomedical Fellowship and established my own research group at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB), holding a staff position in the Dept of Biology at University College London. I was promoted to Reader in 2001 and a personal chair in 2003. During this period, I continued to study GSK-3 signalling in Dictyostelium and developed an international reputation in the area of Wnt signaling. I discovered the first beta-catenin and the existence of adherens junctions outside the metazoa, published in Nature. In addition, my Cell paper on GSK-3 was a cornerstone for the discovery that lithium inhibits GSK-3. I have continued to investigate the role of lithium on cellular signaling pathways, investigating both GSK-3 and inositol phosphate signaling in both Dictyosteliumand neurons. My 2002 Nature paper is a seminal paper in the field of psychopharmacology, showing that inositol phosphate signaling is a common target of the majority of mood stabilizers.

In 2005, I moved to the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, and was a co-founder of the University's Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI). I have continued to develop my research in on the neurocellular basis of psychiatric disorders and the mechanism of action of mood stabilizers, building a new group focussed on human iPSC.

Aelodaethau proffesiynol

I am a member of the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum (CINP), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FSB), associate Editor of Molecular Biotechnology and an academic editor for Scientific Reports and an editorial board member of Cells.

Safleoedd academaidd blaenorol

Within the School of Biosciences, I was Group Leader of the Molecular Cell Biology Research Group (2005-2007) and Neuroscience (2011) was Head of Innovation, Partnership and Engagement from 2009-2013. I am currently co-Director of Research, and a co-Director of NMHRI.

Pwyllgorau ac adolygu

Ar hyn o bryd rwy'n aelod panel sifftio a chyfweld ar gyfer rhaglen Cymrodoriaeth Arweinwyr y Dyfodol UKRI ac yn aelod o Grŵp Cynghori Rhwydwaith (NAG) rhwydweithiau Iechyd Meddwl UKRI-ESRC.

Rwy'n dyfarnu ceisiadau grant yn rheolaidd ar gyfer cyllidwyr y DU a rhyngwladol.