Arthur Butt

Arthur Butt is a Professor of Cellular Neurophysiology at the University of Portsmouth, affiliated with the School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. He holds a personal Chair and is Director of the Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Sciences (IBBS). His research focuses on glial cell biology, particularly in health and neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. Butt has authored/co-authored two books on glial cell biology with Alex Verkhratsky.

Education: PhD under Joan Abbott at King’s College London; postdoctoral work at Yale University with Bruce Ransom. Career highlights include a personal Chair at King’s College London (2002) and leadership roles at Portsmouth since 2006.

Research interests span glial potassium channels (Kir4.1, TASK-1), neurotransmitter signaling in white matter, oligodendrogenesis, and remyelination. His lab investigates mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, stroke, and epilepsy, with recent work on phytochemicals (e.g., agathisflavone) for neuroprotection.

Key projects include BBSRC-funded studies on Kir4.1’s role in glial function and MRC grants examining glial potassium channels in seizure susceptibility. Collaborations with IBBS and international groups address enteric nervous system glia and CNS injury repair.

Grants/Funding: BBSRC, MRC, Multiple Sclerosis Society, International Spinal Research Trust. Notable collaborations include work with Liz Bradbury (King’s College) on spinal cord injury regeneration.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Gastrointestinal Pharmacology Group and contributes to the Neuroglia research network. Active in drug discovery targeting myelination and neuroregeneration through connectivity mapping.