Dr Sophie Hawkins

Sophie is a full-time researcher based in the stem cell laboratory of Professor Siddharthan Chandran and Dr Bhuvaneish Selvaraj. Her work focuses on developing models to understand the role that supporting cell types play in the pathology of motor neuron disease (MND). Although motor neurons are the key nerve cell that degenerate in MND, there are other cell types termed ‘glia’ that support the survival and function of neurons. Understanding the role of these cells in MND pathology has the potential to uncover novel, druggable targets.

Sophie began her research career at the University of York where she undertook a MSc by research. She then moved to the University of Exeter to pursue a PhD, specialising in understanding mechanisms of motor neuron disease at a cellular level. Since joining the University of Edinburgh in March 2024, she has expanded her repertoire to include the study of supporting glial cells and now works on developing organoid models of motor neuron disease.