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Shania Ibarra
Name:
Shania Ibarra
Job title:
Research Assistant
Place of work / study:
Oxford Drug Discovery Institute (ODDI), University of Oxford
Area of Research:
Neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s Disease and Drug Discovery.
How is your work funded?
Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a Research Assistant at the ODDI working on a project that aims to discover small molecules that modulate the neuroinflammatory pathway. Prior to this, I graduated from the University of Bath with a BSc in Biomedical Sciences. As part of my degree, I completed a year in industry at the UCL Drug Discovery Institute (UDDI) where I helped to develop a triculture model using primary rat neurons, astrocytes and microglia.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
When I’m not in the lab, I like to travel (sometimes with people I don’t know), go for really long walks or try out new sports. I also enjoy documenting my life and editing videos.
Why did you choose to work in dementia?
I became interested in dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases after volunteering at a neurological centre during my A-levels. Through this experience, I became aware of the devastating effect such diseases had in the lives of patients and their loved ones. After learning that there was a lack of disease-modifying therapies available through my studies, I decided to pursue research to find new treatments that would help those living with these conditions.
What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?
Be open to trying out new things and challenging yourself.
What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
Atomic Habits by James Clear. Yes, I do recommend it!
Can we find you on Twitter & Instagram?
No sorry
Dr Becky Carlyle
Dr Yvonne Couch
