معرفی
Dr. Alana Thackray is a Senior Research Associate in Molecular Pathology and Viral Immunity at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, operating within the School of Biological Sciences. Classified as a Principal Investigator specializing in Infection and Immunity, she maintains affiliations with Cambridge Neuroscience and collaborates with Dr. Raymond Bujdoso.
Her research program focuses on molecular pathology of conventional and non-conventional pathogens, particularly investigating infectious prion agents associated with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies including scrapie (sheep), BSE (cattle), CWD (cervids), and CJD (humans). She employs diverse methodologies such as anti-PrP monoclonal antibody generation, recombinant PrP protein analysis, transgenic mouse models, and advanced techniques including PMCA, CDI, confocal microscopy, and RNASeq. Her work explores pathogen-immune system interactions with emphasis on peripheral prion pathogenesis and neuroinvasion.
Dr. Thackray actively develops molecular reagents for prion research and diagnostic tests while maintaining expertise in herpes virus pathogenesis and chemotherapy. She utilizes Drosophila melanogaster as a tractable model for prion disorders, leveraging conserved genetic pathways to identify candidate modifiers of neurodegenerative conditions. Funded by the Biosciences and Biotechnology Research Council, she supervises PhD students and investigates biochemical pathways of ovine prion formation, clearance, and neurotoxicity to identify potential therapeutic targets.
