![Laura Westacott BSc (Hons), PhD](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/7036?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Laura Westacott
(she/her)
BSc (Hons), PhD
Research Associate, Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Studies comparing healthy individuals to those with schizophrenia have revealed a connection between risk for the disease and genes within the immune system. In particular, these studies point to a part of the immune system known as complement. Relatively little is known about the role of this system in the brain however. My research examines how complement proteins affect brain development, with a particular focus on the vulnerable period of adolescence, and how complement may influence cognitive and emotional domains affected in psychiatric disorders more generally. Basesd in the Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, I use a variety of techniques to understand the interaction between complement and the brain including behavioural neuroscience, immunohistochemistry and preclinical MRI (through my collaboration with The Brain Centre, King's College London).
Publication
2024
- Westacott, L. J. and Severance, E. G. 2024. The plasma proteome and prognosis for psychiatric symptoms in psychosis: A focus on function, not factors. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 121, pp. 26-27. (10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.017)
2022
- Westacott, L. and Wilkinson, L. 2022. Complement dependent synaptic reorganisation during critical periods of brain development and risk for psychiatric disorder. Frontiers in Neuroscience 16, article number: 840266. (10.3389/fnins.2022.840266)
- Westacott, L. J. et al. 2022. Complement C3 and C3aR mediate different aspects of emotional behaviours; relevance to risk for psychiatric disorder. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 99, pp. 70-82. (10.1016/j.bbi.2021.09.005)
2021
- Westacott, L. J. et al. 2021. Dissociable effects of complement C3 and C3aR on survival and morphology of adult born hippocampal neurons, pattern separation, and cognitive flexibility in male mice. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 98, pp. 136-150. (10.1016/j.bbi.2021.08.215)
- Haan, N., Westacott, L. J., Carter, J., Owen, M. J., Gray, W. P., Hall, J. and Wilkinson, L. S. 2021. Haploinsufficiency of the schizophrenia and autism risk gene Cyfip1 causes abnormal postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis through microglial and Arp2/3 mediated actin dependent mechanisms. Translational Psychiatry 11(1), article number: 313. (10.1038/s41398-021-01415-6)
2019
- Manivannan, S., Al-Amri, M., Postans, M., Westacott, L., Gray, W. and Zaben, M. 2019. The effectiveness of virtual reality interventions for improvement of neurocognitive performance post-traumatic brain injury: a systematic review. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 34(2), pp. E52-E65. (10.1097/HTR.0000000000000412)
2018
- Hammad, A., Westacott, L. and Zaben, M. 2018. The role of the complement system in traumatic brain injury: a review. Journal of Neuroinflammation 15(1), article number: 24. (10.1186/s12974-018-1066-z)
2016
- Westacott, L. 2016. Neuroimmune regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis by Complement Component 3 and Complement C3a Receptor. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2012
- Metzler-Baddeley, C., Jones, D. K., Steventon, J., Westacott, L., Aggleton, J. P. and O'Sullivan, M. 2012. Cingulum microstructure predicts cognitive control in older age and mild cognitive impairment. Journal of Neuroscience 32(49), pp. 17612-17619. (10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3299-12.2012)
Erthyglau
- Westacott, L. J. and Severance, E. G. 2024. The plasma proteome and prognosis for psychiatric symptoms in psychosis: A focus on function, not factors. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 121, pp. 26-27. (10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.017)
- Westacott, L. and Wilkinson, L. 2022. Complement dependent synaptic reorganisation during critical periods of brain development and risk for psychiatric disorder. Frontiers in Neuroscience 16, article number: 840266. (10.3389/fnins.2022.840266)
- Westacott, L. J. et al. 2022. Complement C3 and C3aR mediate different aspects of emotional behaviours; relevance to risk for psychiatric disorder. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 99, pp. 70-82. (10.1016/j.bbi.2021.09.005)
- Westacott, L. J. et al. 2021. Dissociable effects of complement C3 and C3aR on survival and morphology of adult born hippocampal neurons, pattern separation, and cognitive flexibility in male mice. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 98, pp. 136-150. (10.1016/j.bbi.2021.08.215)
- Haan, N., Westacott, L. J., Carter, J., Owen, M. J., Gray, W. P., Hall, J. and Wilkinson, L. S. 2021. Haploinsufficiency of the schizophrenia and autism risk gene Cyfip1 causes abnormal postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis through microglial and Arp2/3 mediated actin dependent mechanisms. Translational Psychiatry 11(1), article number: 313. (10.1038/s41398-021-01415-6)
- Manivannan, S., Al-Amri, M., Postans, M., Westacott, L., Gray, W. and Zaben, M. 2019. The effectiveness of virtual reality interventions for improvement of neurocognitive performance post-traumatic brain injury: a systematic review. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 34(2), pp. E52-E65. (10.1097/HTR.0000000000000412)
- Hammad, A., Westacott, L. and Zaben, M. 2018. The role of the complement system in traumatic brain injury: a review. Journal of Neuroinflammation 15(1), article number: 24. (10.1186/s12974-018-1066-z)
- Metzler-Baddeley, C., Jones, D. K., Steventon, J., Westacott, L., Aggleton, J. P. and O'Sullivan, M. 2012. Cingulum microstructure predicts cognitive control in older age and mild cognitive impairment. Journal of Neuroscience 32(49), pp. 17612-17619. (10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3299-12.2012)
Gosodiad
- Westacott, L. 2016. Neuroimmune regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis by Complement Component 3 and Complement C3a Receptor. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Biography
I graduated with a BSc in Psychology from Cardiff University in 2011. I subsequently gained experience working in CUBRIC before beginning my PhD as part of the Wellcome Trust Integrative Neuroscience programme at Cardiff University. My PhD research investigated the impact of the complement C3a/C3aR pathway on adult hippocampal neurogenesis and related cognitive and emotional behaviours using in vitro and in vivo models. Post-PhD, I joined the lab of Lawrence Wilkinson, Jeremy Hall & Kerrie Thomas in the NMHII and received funding from the Waterloo Foundation and the Hodge Foundation to further my research on the complement system and anxiety. In 2021 I gained my first award as PI in the form of a MRC ECR Data Generation Award. As part of this project I have collaborated with researchers from King's College London to understand the effects of C3aR on brain structure and function across development, and researchers in the Cardiff University Demetia Research Institute to examine cellular changes in schizophrenia-relevant brain areas during adolesence.
Supervisions
I reguarly supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of courses for the following activities:
- Final year dissertation projects
- Project placements e.g., summer placements of 6 weeks or more
- Professional training years where you can gain experience as a research assistant
Please get in touch if you are interested in joining the lab.
Current supervision
Hina Kanwal
Research student
Kirsten Baillie
Research student
Past projects
Former PhD Students:
Hanna Lemmik - Wellcome Trust PhD NeuroImmune Interactions in Health and Disease - King's College London
Thesis title: "Role of complement receptor C3aR1 in brain struture and function". Submitted September 2024
Former MSc Students:
Paul Davies, MSc Psychiatry, Dissertation title "The role of psilocybin in enhancing synaptic plasticity: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications".
Former Undergraduate project students:
23/24:
Sophie Hall, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Sophie Buckley, BSc Biomedical Sciences (Professional placement year)
22/23:
Hamish Macfarlane, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Tomos Morgan, BSc Genomic Medicine (MMBCh Intercalated dissertation)
21/22:
Megan Ching, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Megan Evans, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
19/20:
Nicola Lander, BSc Biomedical Sciences (CUROP placement)
Ingrid Baloc, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Dean Payne, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Joanne McCabe, MMBCh Medicine, University of Exeter (Brisith Society for Immunology placement)
Anastasia Mirza-Davies, MMBCh Medicine (CURes Placement)
18/19:
Omar Marei, MBBCh Medicine (Wellcome INSPIRE placement)
Claudia Evison, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Sarah Eley, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
17/18:
Margarita Toneva, BSc Psychology (Sprint Placement)
Emma Bush, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Sophie Brain, BSc Psychology (Dissertation project)
Contact Details
+44 29206 88188
Hadyn Ellis Building, Floor 3, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
Research themes
Specialisms
- Behavioural genetics
- Psychiatric disorders
- Neurodevelopment
- Neuroimmunology
