Project title
Olfactory stem cell model for investigating the causes and progression of dementia
Supervisory Team
Principal Supervisor: Adjunct Associate Professor Anthony White
Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Larisa Haupt
External Supervisor: Associate Professor Katja Kanninen
Project description
Laura’s project focuses on studying the key differences in gene and protein expression, neuroinflammation as well as mitochondrial function between healthy controls, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease patient-derived olfactory cells using techniques such as global RNA sequencing and proteomic analysis. Laura’s project will help elucidate the involvement of the olfactory system in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and provide new insights into pathways, biomarkers and therapeutic targets that may aid in the development of effective therapeutic regimes for this devastating disease.
Short biography
Laura obtained her BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. After that, she worked almost five years in the industry as a product specialist of microscopes and microscope imaging systems. In 2016, Laura decided to travel to Australia and return to academia. She worked a few years as a Research Assistant at QIMR Berghofer and at Queensland Brain Institute before she was awarded QUT Postgraduate Research Award (QUTPRA) (International) and she was able to begin her PhD studies at QUT in early 2019. Laura is based at QIMR Berghofer in Cellular and Molecular Neurodegeneration group headed by Associate Professor Anthony White.
Education
2011 Master of Science (MSc) in Cell Biology from the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
2010 Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland