2014-2015

UCL Excellence Fellows 2014-2015.

	Dr Philip Dannhauser Philip is a cell biologist aiming to understand molecular mechanisms behind the formation of clathrin transport vesicles. Clathrin has the unique property to self assemble into various types of regular lattices which promotes vesicle formation. Clathrin vesicles have been linked to various human diseases such as diabetes, cancer and pathogen infection. A detailed understanding of clathrin mediated processes will provide new molecular insight into these disorders. Philip worked with Dr. Ernst Ungewickell at Hannover Medical School developing in vitro procedures to study clathrin properties and will continue to do so at UCL. He uses a combination of various biochemical and electron microscopy techniques. This has also led to the development of novel approaches in the field of nanotechnology. Academic profile
	Dr Andrew Macaskill Andrew is a neuroscientist working to understand how neurons in the brain communicate with each other to allow them to encode complex behaviours. Problems with this communication underlie the vast majority of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases, and so his aim is to find novel ways to combat these diseases by gaining a greater understanding of the processes that they destroy. Andrew uses a combination of in vivo and in vitro viral expression, two-photon microscopy, optogenetics and electrophysiology to identify and characterise the neural circuitry underlying the generation of behaviour, and how this is altered in disease. Prior to joining UCL he was a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at New York University working with Dr Adam Carter. Andrew is currently a Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellow. In 2016, he was awarded the Wellcome-Beit Prize. Academic profile
	Dr Lele Rangaka Lele is an infectious disease clinician scientist whose research aims to contribute to global efforts to eliminate TB. Her work includes the development of biomarkers, clinical trials, and comparative analysis studies between South Africa and the UK using epidemiological cohorts and biological samples. These studies aim to reduce the pool of individuals at risk of active TB, limit transmission of TB, and contribute to health system strengthening to support TB control. Lele obtained a Medical Degree from University of Cape Town and was awarded her PhD in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Public Health in 2013. PubMed: Rangaka MX
	Dr Rimona Weil Rimona Weil seeks to understand how visual processing goes wrong in patients with Parkinson's disease. Often thought of as a disease affecting movement, patients with Parkinson's also suffer with distressing visual symptoms of abnormal perception and visual hallucinations. Rimona uses psychophysical and neuroimaging techniques including magnetoencephalography and functional MRI to study visual changes in patients with idiopathic and genetically-defined disease. Prior to this Fellowship, she trained as a clinical neurologist. She undertook her doctoral research at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL, in the integration of visual processing in health and disease. In 2016, Rimona was awarded a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship. Academic profile
	Dr Tim Witney Dr Tim Witney is a cancer biologist interested in the discovery and development of new PET and MR methods to image tumour metabolism and the downstream effect of targeted therapeutics. The primary focus of his UCL Excellence Fellowship is to design imaging tools that help describe the fundamental biological mechanisms that drive treatment resistance in cancer, with the ultimate goal of improving therapy selection and patient management. He was awarded the Wellcome Trust / Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship in 2015, having joined UCL from Stanford University. Tim is currently a Honorary Senior Lecturer at Kings College London.  Academic profile