![Hazel Hall-Roberts](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/6557?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
I am a postdoctoral research associate in the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff, and I manage their stem cell facility and the IPMAR project. My research focusses on the role of microglia in neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's disease, using stem cell models.
Previously, as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr Sally Cowley/Prof William James in the University of Oxford (2016-2020), I was trained in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) culture and differentiation to macrophage and microglia cell types. In collaboration with the Alzheimer's Research UK Oxford Drug Discovery Institute, I studied the impact of single genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease upon microglia cell phenotype. I then moved to the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University to head an ambitious project under Prof Julie Williams, generating new iPSC lines from Alzheimer's disease patients with high levels of polygenic risk, and studying their phenotypes when differentiated to iPSC-microglia-like cells.
Watch an animation I made explaining the importance of microglia in Alzheimer's disease in YouTube
Publication
2023
- Stöberl, N. et al. 2023. Mutant huntingtin confers cell-autonomous phenotypes on Huntington’s disease iPSC-derived microglia. Scientific Reports 13, article number: 20477. (10.1038/s41598-023-46852-z)
- Stoberl, N., Maguire, E., Salis, E., Shaw, B. and Hall-Roberts, H. 2023. Human iPSC-derived glia models for the study of neuroinflammation. Journal of Neuroinflammation 20, article number: 231. (10.1186/s12974-023-02919-2)
2022
- Maguire, E., Connor-Robson, N., Shaw, B., O’Donoghue, R., Stöberl, N. and Hall-Roberts, H. 2022. Assaying microglia functions in vitro. Cells 11(21), article number: 3414. (10.3390/cells11213414)
2021
- Obst, J. et al. 2021. PLCγ2 regulates TREM2 signalling and integrin-mediated adhesion and migration of human iPSC-derived macrophages. Scientific Reports 11(1), article number: 19842. (10.1038/s41598-021-96144-7)
- Hall-Roberts, H., Di Daniel, E., James, W. S., Davis, J. B. and Cowley, S. A. 2021. In vitro quantitative imaging assay for phagocytosis of dead neuroblastoma cells by iPSC-macrophages. Journal of Visualized Experiments(168), article number: e62217. (10.3791/62217)
Articles
- Stöberl, N. et al. 2023. Mutant huntingtin confers cell-autonomous phenotypes on Huntington’s disease iPSC-derived microglia. Scientific Reports 13, article number: 20477. (10.1038/s41598-023-46852-z)
- Stoberl, N., Maguire, E., Salis, E., Shaw, B. and Hall-Roberts, H. 2023. Human iPSC-derived glia models for the study of neuroinflammation. Journal of Neuroinflammation 20, article number: 231. (10.1186/s12974-023-02919-2)
- Maguire, E., Connor-Robson, N., Shaw, B., O’Donoghue, R., Stöberl, N. and Hall-Roberts, H. 2022. Assaying microglia functions in vitro. Cells 11(21), article number: 3414. (10.3390/cells11213414)
- Obst, J. et al. 2021. PLCγ2 regulates TREM2 signalling and integrin-mediated adhesion and migration of human iPSC-derived macrophages. Scientific Reports 11(1), article number: 19842. (10.1038/s41598-021-96144-7)
- Hall-Roberts, H., Di Daniel, E., James, W. S., Davis, J. B. and Cowley, S. A. 2021. In vitro quantitative imaging assay for phagocytosis of dead neuroblastoma cells by iPSC-macrophages. Journal of Visualized Experiments(168), article number: e62217. (10.3791/62217)
Biography
Education:
BSc (hons) Biochemistry with Year in Industry, first class, University of Bristol (2012)
PhD in Biochemistry, University of Bath (2016)
Professional memberships
British Neuroscience Association
Academic positions
- 2020-present: Postdoctoral Research Associate, UK Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University
- 2016-2020: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology & Oxford Drug Discovery Institute, University of Oxford