معرفی
Claire Russell serves as Associate Professor in Developmental and Translational Neurobiology within the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). Her research leverages zebrafish (Danio rerio) models to investigate neurodegenerative mechanisms in Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs/Batten disease), epilepsy, and ataxia, with emphasis on microglial function, autophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction.
She earned her BSc from Imperial College London (1991) and DPhil from the University of Sussex (1995), conducting postdoctoral work at Imperial College, King's College London, and University College London. Her lab operates under core values of Equity, Respect, Commitment, Curiosity, and Integrity, fostering an inclusive research environment through structured recruitment and daily practices.
Russell's research program exploits zebrafish advantages—rapid development, optical transparency, and genetic tractability—for high-throughput drug discovery and mechanistic studies. Recent publications reveal strong trends in mitochondrial pathology (ATPase inhibitory factor 1 dysfunction), autophagy defects in NCLs, and cross-species modeling of lysosomal storage disorders. Her group develops zebrafish models for CLN2/CLN3 diseases and collaborates on drug repurposing studies targeting seizure reduction and neuroprotection.
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Associate of the Royal College of Science
She has mentored over 50 PhD/Master's students and secured major funding including MRC (£1m for CLN3 personalized medicine), EU H2020 BATCure (€6m), and Batten Disease Family Association grants. Current projects focus on lysosomal storage disorder mechanisms, blood-brain barrier therapeutics, and microglia-neuron interactions. Russell leads the Brain Health and Behaviour research group, teaches developmental biology courses, coordinates placement years, and conducts extensive school outreach including CRB-checked classroom visits and work experience programs.
