Benjamin Ringham-Terry

PhD Project Title: PhD Cardiovascular Biomedicine

Lay summary:

So far during my PhD, I have been rotating through different labs doing different projects. My first project was to investigate the role of an adaptor protein involved in cell signalling and how it regulates angiogenesis (the growth and development of new blood vessels) using fluorescent zebrafish. 
My next project will involve looking at how certain types of cells in the heart communicate differently during development, which causes cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the heart) in patients with Noonan syndrome (a genetic condition), and hopefully identify why these cells signal aberrantly. 
My last rotation will involve using biosensors to detect and probe interactions between different cardiac cells following myocardial infarction, to try and identify novel ways of repairing the heart following an infarction. 
For my main 3 year PhD project, I am still deciding exactly what I want to investigate!

My Background 

I was raised in sunny England, until about 2012, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. A typical millennial. 
I realised I had a passion for understanding nature, or on a more basic level why things happen, during my A-levels. Biochemistry appealed to me because it provided an understanding of the most basic level of life; how do cells work?
Armed with my Biochemistry degree, it was a choice between a potentially soul crushing industry job, and academic research. I sought advice from my personal tutor who told me; if you want to find out if research is for you, go and do a research degree to find out. The rest is history, I massively enjoyed doing my MRes and decided I wanted to become a wet lab scientist. I was then appointed as a Research Assistant which is where I first examined the field of cardiovascular science – I enjoyed the field such that I applied for a PhD in Cardiovascular Biomedicine. 
The main things that inspire me are attempting to understanding the complex world around us through science – plus it’s always fun explaining to Flat Earth society conspiracists how we know the earth is round!

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Biochemistry
MRes Clinical Drug Development (D)

Awards
Nominated for Dean’s Research Prize for outstanding research (2017)

Publications 

• BONED DEL RIO, I., YOUNG L. C., SARI, S., JONES, G., RINGHAM-TERRY, B., HARTIG, N., REJNOWICZ, E., LEI, W,. BHAMRA, A,. SURINOVA, S. & RODRIGUEZ-VICIANA, P. 2019. Selective contribution of the SHOC2 phosphatase to ERK pathway dynamics highlights its potential as a therapeutic target. EMBO Journal (under review).
• YOUNG, L. C., HARTIG, N., RO, I. B. D., SARI, S., RINGHAM-TERRY, B., WAINWRIGHT, J. R., JONES, G. G., MCCORMICK, F. & RODRIGUEZ-VICIANA, P. 2018. SHOC2–MRAS–PP1 complex positively regulates RAF activity and contributes to Noonan syndrome pathogenesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201720352.
• CRITCHLEY, W. R., PELLET-MANY, C., RINGHAM-TERRY, B., HARRISON, M. A., ZACHARY, I. C. & PONNAMBALAM, S. 2018. Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Ubiquitination and De-Ubiquitination in Signal Transduction and Receptor Trafficking. Cells, 7.

Appointments 

Research Assistant at UCL Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine under Prof Ian Zachary (1 yr)

Contact details 
Benjamin.ringham-terry@ucl.ac.uk
Twitter: @B_Ringham
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-ringham-terry-5142a5146/
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-000