Queen Square Inaugural Lectures: Professor James Jepson and Professor Sallie Baxendale

19 April 2023

UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology held its 4th inaugural lecture evening of 2023, on 21st March 2023, which was joined online and in person by many UK and international attendees.

Professor James Jepson (Professor of Neurogenetics) ”How fruit flies found a home at IoN”

Professor James Jepson attained his degree from Imperial College (BSc, Biology) and his DPhil from Oxford University. He then undertook post-doctoral research in the US, first at Brown University (studying behavioural roles of RNA editing in Drosophila) and subsequently at Thomas Jefferson University (studying the genetic basis of circadian rhythms and sleep). He started his own laboratory at UCL Queen Square Institue of Neurology in 2014. Since then, his lab has published an array of studies of novel disease models (Cell Reports, Brain, Movement Disorders) and the neurogenetic basis of sleep in Drosophila (eLife, Current Biology, Scientific Reports). He obtained a MRC New Investigator Award in 2017, was promoted to Principal Research Fellow in 2019, and was awarded a MRC Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship to study the mechanistic basis of dystonia in 2021. In 2022 he was promoted to Professor of Neurogenetics.

"It was an immense privilege to share the stage with Prof. Sally Baxendale to talk about our journeys leading to Professorships at UCL.

When I began my career I was highly focused on performing fundamental neuroscience research; particularly using the fruit fly, Drosophila, as a model to understand how cellular pathways such as RNA modification and ion channel regulation affected behaviours such as courtship, sleep, and circadian rhythms.

Joining the Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology has given me the chance to use what I have learnt to help further our knowledge of neurological diseases, particularly movement disorders such as dystonia and dyskinesia whose fundamental mechanisms are poorly understood. I am very fortunate to be able to guide this research in a Department with so many talented scientists and such a diverse research base – perfectly exemplified by Prof. Baxendale’s fantastic talk on neuropsychological studies of epilepsy patients.

In addition to describing how I came to UCL and some of the research we have done in my lab, this lecture represented a chance for me to say thank you to everyone who has helped me along this path: my DPhil and post-doctoral mentors; my colleagues at UCL who have given so much time to help me with important grant and Fellowship applications; and particularly the early career researchers who have worked in my lab over the last nine years. I am sincerely grateful to them all" Professor James Jepson

Professor Sallie Baxendale (Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology) “It’s a poor memory that only works backwards... counting the cognitive costs of epilepsy surgery”

Professor Sallie Baxendale is professor of clinical neuropsychology at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. She has over three decades of clinical experience working with people with epilepsy in London and Oxford and is the current chair of the International League Against Epilepsy Diagnostic Methods Commission. She serves on the Board of Governors for the International Neuropsychological Society. She specialises in the neuropsychological assessment of cognitive and behavioural difficulties in epilepsy and non pharmacological interventions for the condition.

Professor Baxendale’s research interests ranges from studies of the neural substrate of memory to explorations of the ways in which the stigma associated with epilepsy is perpetuated in the media. She was awarded the Arthur Benton Prize for her clinical and research contributions to epilepsy in 2018.

"It was a genuine honour and a real pleasure to present my inaugural lecture with Prof James Jepson this week. Our contrasting journeys to becoming professors at UCL really encapsulated the breadth of the research going on at Queen Square. From studies of the rna of fruit flies to long term clinical outcomes following epilepsy, all of life is here.

My lecture focused on the importance of assessing clinical outcomes following epilepsy surgery, with a particular focus on neuropsychological function. Epilepsy surgery is an elective procedure and it is vital that people who are considering this option know as much as possible about the cognitive contraindications, possible complications and likely cognitive costs of the procedure. The team at Queen Square are part of an international consortium of clinical academics who are dedicated to improving our understanding of the factors that influence outcomes in the people we treat and it was a real privilege to be able to share this work and our aspirations for the future with the wider community". Professor Sallie Baxendale.

Introduction and closing remarks were given by Professor Dimitri Kullmann, IoN Deputy Director for Translation and votes of thanks were given by Professor Dimitri Kullmann, and Professor Matthew Walker, Professor of Neurology Department of Clinical & Experimental Epilepsy, UCL, Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, respectively.

Image (left to right): Professor Dimitri Kullmann, Professor James Jepson, Professor Sallie Baxendale, Professor Matthew Walker.

Links

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